18.05
ARDAN
Pronoun
In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun (Lat: pronomen) is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun (or noun
phrase), such as, in English, the words it(substituting for the name of a certain
object) and she (substituting for the female name of a
person). The replaced noun is called the antecedent of the pronoun.
For example, consider
the sentence "Lisa gave the coat to Phil." All three nouns in the
sentence can be replaced by pronouns: "She gave it to him." If the
coat, Lisa, and Phil have been previously mentioned, the listener can deduce what
the pronouns she, it and him refer to and therefore understand the meaning
of the sentence; however, if the sentence "She gave it to him." is
the first presentation of the idea, none of the pronouns have antecedents, and
each pronoun is therefore ambiguous. Pronouns without antecedents are also called
unprecursed pronouns. English grammar allows pronouns to potentially have
multiple candidate antecedents. The process of determining which antecedent was
intended is known as anaphore resolution.
Types Pronoun
Common types of
pronouns found in the world's languages are as follows:
- Personal pronouns stand in place of the names of people or things:
- Subject pronouns are used when the person or thing is thesubject of the
sentence or clause. English example: I like to eat chips, but she does
not.
- Second person formal and informal pronouns (T-V distinction). For example, vous and tu in
French. There is no distinction in modern English though Elizabethan
English marked the distinction with "thou" (singular informal)
and "you" (plural or singular formal).
- Inclusive and exclusive "we" pronouns indicate whether the audience is included. There is
no distinction in English.
- Intensive pronouns, also known as emphatic pronouns, re-emphasize a
noun or pronoun that has already been mentioned. English uses the same
forms as the reflexive pronouns; for example: I did it myself(contrast reflexive use, I did it to myself).
- Object pronouns are used when the person or thing is the object of the
sentence or clause. English example: John
likes mebut
not her.
- Direct and indirect object pronouns. English uses the same oblique form for both; for example: Mary loveshim (direct object); Mary
sent him a
letter (indirect object).
- Reflexive pronouns are used when a person or thing acts on itself.
English example: John cut himself.
- Reciprocal pronouns refer to a reciprocal relationship. English example: They do not like each other.
- Prepositional pronouns come after a preposition.
No distinct forms exist in English; for example: Anna and Maria looked athim.
- Disjunctive pronouns are used in isolation or in certain other special
grammatical contexts. No distinct forms exist in English; for example: Who does this belong to? Me.
- Dummy pronouns are used when grammatical rules require a noun (or
pronoun), but none is semantically required. English example: It is
raining.
- Weak pronouns.
- Possessive pronouns are used to indicate possession or ownership.
- In a strict sense, the possessive pronouns are only those that act syntactically as nouns.
English example: Those clothes aremine.
- Often, though, the term
"possessive pronoun" is also applied to the so-called possessive adjectives (or possessive determiners). For example, in English: I lost my wallet. They are not
strictly speaking pronouns[citation
needed] because they
do not substitute for a noun or noun phrase, and as such, some
grammarians classify these terms in a separate lexical category called determiners (they have a
syntactic role close to that ofadjectives,
always qualifying a noun).
- Demonstrative pronouns distinguish the particular objects or people that are
referred to from other possible candidates. English example: I'll take these.
- Indefinite pronouns refer to general categories of people or things.
English example: Anyone can
do that.
- Distributive pronouns are used to refer to members of a group separately
rather than collectively. English example: Toeach his own.
- Negative pronouns indicate the
non-existence of people or things. English example: Nobody thinks
that.
- Relative pronouns refer back to people or things previously mentioned.
English example: People who smoke should quit now.
- Indefinite relative pronouns have some of the properties of both relative pronouns
and indefinite pronouns. They have a sense of "referring back",
but the person or thing to which they refer has not previously been
explicitly named. English example:I know what I
like.
- Interrogative pronouns ask which person or thing is meant. English example: Who did
that?
- In many languages (e.g., Czech, English, French, Interlingua,
andRussian), the sets of relative and interrogative
pronouns are nearly identical. Compare English: Who is
that? (interrogative) to I
know who that
is. (relative).
Pronouns and
determiners
Pronouns and determiners are closely related, and some linguists think
pronouns are actually determiners without a noun or a noun phrase. The following chart shows their relationships
in English.
|
Pronoun
|
Determiner
|
|
|
Personal
(1st/2nd)
|
we
|
we Scotsmen
|
|
Possessive
|
ours
|
our freedom
|
|
Demonstrative
|
this
|
this gentleman
|
|
Indefinite
|
some
|
some frogs
|
|
Interrogative
|
who
|
which option
|
Examples:
- "She got her looks
from her father. He's a plastic
surgeon."
(Groucho Marx)
- Chalmers: Well, Seymour, it seems we've
put together a baseball team and I was wondering, who's
on first, eh?
Skinner : Not the pronoun, but rather a player with the unlikely name of "Who" is on first.
Chalmers : Well that's just great, Seymour. We've been out here six seconds and you've already managed to blow the routine.
("Screaming Yellow Honkers," The Simpsons, 1999)
- "We rolled all
over the floor, in each other's arms, like two huge
helpless children. He was naked and goatish under his robe,
and I felt suffocated as he rolled
over him. We rolled over me. They rolled
overhim. We rolled over us."
(Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita)
- "I used to be
with it, but then they changed what 'it' was.
Now, what I'm with isn't it, and what's 'it' seems
weird and scary to me."
(Abe in "Homerpalooza," The Simpsons)
- "Why shouldn't things be
largely absurd, futile, and transitory? Theyare so, and we are
so, and they and we go very well
together."
(George Santayana)
- "I am he as you are he as you are me and we are
all together."
(John Lennon and Paul McCartney, "I Am the Walrus")
Adjective Clause
In linguistics, a dependent clause (sometimes called a subordinate clause) is a clause that augments an independent
clause with additional
information, but which cannot stand alone as a sentence.
Dependent clauses modify the independent clause of a sentence or serve as a
component of it. Some grammarians use the term subordinate clause as a synonym fordependent clause, but in some grammars subordinate clause refers only to adverbial dependent
clauses.There are also different types of dependent clauses like noun clauses,
relative (adjectival) clauses, and adverbial clauses.
Dependent words
In Indo-European languages, a dependent clause usually
begins with a dependent word. One kind of dependent word is a subordinating conjunction. Subordinating conjunctions
are used to begin dependent clauses known asadverbial clauses,
which act like adverbs. In the
following examples, the adverbial clauses are bold and the subordinating
conjunctions are italicized:
- Wherever she goes,
she leaves a piece of luggage behind.
- Bob enjoyed the movie more than I
did.
(The adverbial clause than I did modifies the adverb more.)
- I know that he
likes me.
(The noun clause that he
likes me serves as the object
of the main-clause verb know.)
Another type of
dependent word is the relative pronoun.
Relative pronouns begin dependent clauses known as relative clauses;
these are adjective clauses, because they modify nouns. In the
following example, the relative clause is bold and the relative pronoun is
italicized:
- The only one of the seven
dwarfs who does
not have a beard is Dopey.
(The adjective clause who does not have a beard describes the pronoun one.)
A relative adverb
plays the role of an adverb in a relative clause, as in
- That is the reason why I
came.
(The relative clause why I came describes the noun reason, and within the relative clause the adverb why modifies the verb came.)
- That is the place where he
lives.
(The relative clause where he lives describes the noun place, and within the relative clause the adverb where modifies the verb lives.)
- No one understands why you
need experience.
(The noun clause why you
need experience functions as the direct object of the main-clause verb
"understands", and within the noun clause why serves as an adverb modifying need.)
Noun clause
A noun clause can be used like a noun. It can
be a subject, predicate
nominative, direct object, appositive, indirect object, or
object of thepreposition.
Some of the English words that introduce noun clauses arethat, whether, who,
why, whom, what, how, when, whoever, where,and whomever. Notice that some of these words also introduce adjective and
adverbial clauses. A clause is a noun clause if a pronoun (he, she, it, or
they) could be substituted for it.
Examples:
·
I know who said that. (I know it.) (The dependent clause serves as
the object of the main-clause verb "know".)
·
Whoever
made that assertion is wrong. (He/she is
wrong.) (The dependent clause serves as the subject of the main clause.)
Sometimes in English a noun clause is used
without the introductory word.
Example:
·
I know that he is here.
·
I know he is here. (without "that")
In some cases, use of the introductory word,
though grammatically correct, may sound cumbersome in English, and the
introductory word may be omitted.
Example:
·
I think that it is pretty. (less common)
·
I think it is pretty. (more common)
Relative (adjectival)
clause
n Indo-European languages, a relative
clause—also called an adjective clause or an adjectival clause—will meet three
requirements.
First, like all dependent clauses, it will
contain a verb (and it will also contain a subject unless it is a non-finite dependent clause).
However, in a pro-drop language the subject may be a zero
pronoun—that is, the pronoun may not be explicitly included because
its identity is conveyed by a verbal inflection.
Next, it will begin with a relative adverb [when, where, or why in English] or a relative pronoun [who, whom, whose, that, or which in English]. However, the English relative pronoun may be omitted and only implied if it plays the role of the object of the verb or object of a preposition in a restrictive clause; for example, He is the boy I saw is equivalent to He is the boy whom I saw, and I saw the boy you are talking about is equivalent to the more formal I saw the boy about whom you are talking.
Finally, the relative clause will function as an adjective, answering questions such as "what kind?", "how many?" or "which one?".
The adjective clause in English will follow one of these patterns:
Next, it will begin with a relative adverb [when, where, or why in English] or a relative pronoun [who, whom, whose, that, or which in English]. However, the English relative pronoun may be omitted and only implied if it plays the role of the object of the verb or object of a preposition in a restrictive clause; for example, He is the boy I saw is equivalent to He is the boy whom I saw, and I saw the boy you are talking about is equivalent to the more formal I saw the boy about whom you are talking.
Finally, the relative clause will function as an adjective, answering questions such as "what kind?", "how many?" or "which one?".
The adjective clause in English will follow one of these patterns:
·
Relative Pronoun
[Functioning as Object of Verb] + Subject + Verb
This is the ball that I
was bouncing.
- Relative Adverb + Subject +
Verb (possibly + Object of Verb)
That is the house where I grew up.
That is the house where I met her.
- Relative Pronoun [Functioning
as Subject] + Verb (possibly + Object of Verb)
That is the person who hiccuped.
That is the person who saw me.
- Relative Pronoun [Functioning
as Object of Preposition] + Subject + Verb (possibly + Object of Verb) +
Preposition
That is the person who(m) I was talking about.
That is the person who(m) I was telling you about.
- Preposition + Relative Pronoun
[Functioning as Object of Preposition] + Subject + Verb (possibly + Object
of Verb)
That is the person about whom I
was talking.
That is the person about whom I
was telling you.
- Possessive Relative Pronoun +
Noun [Functioning as Subject] + Verb (possibly + Object of Verb)
That is the dog whose big
brown eyes pleaded for another cookie.
That is the dog whose big
brown eyes begged me for another cookie.
- Possessive Relative Pronoun +
Noun [Functioning as Object of Verb] + Subject + Verb
That is the person whose car I saw.
For a discussion of
adjective clauses in languages other than English, seeRelative
clause#Examples.
English punctuation
The punctuation of an
adjective clause depends on whether it is essential or nonessential and use
commas accordingly. Essential clauses are not set off with commas, while
non-essential clauses are. An adjective clause is essential if the information
it contains is necessary to the meaning of the sentence. For example:
- The vegetables that people often leave uneaten are usually the most nutritious.
Here "vegetables"
is nonspecific, so in order to know which ones is being referred to, one must
have the information provided in the adjective clause (in italics). Because it
restricts the meaning of "vegetable", this adjective clause is called
a restrictive clause; it is essential to the meaning of the main clause and
uses no commas (and correspondingly, does not experience a pause when spoken).
However, if the additional information does not help to identify more narrowly the identity of the noun antecedent but rather simply provides further information about it, then the adjective clause is non-restrictive and does require commas (or a spoken pause) to separate it from the rest of the sentence. For example:
However, if the additional information does not help to identify more narrowly the identity of the noun antecedent but rather simply provides further information about it, then the adjective clause is non-restrictive and does require commas (or a spoken pause) to separate it from the rest of the sentence. For example:
- Broccoli, which people often leave uneaten, is very nutritious.
Depending on context,
a particular noun could be modified by either a restrictive or non-restrictive
adjective clause. For example, while "broccoli" is modified
non-restrictively in the preceding sentence, it is modified restrictively in
the following.
- The broccoli which people leave uneaten is often nutritious.
Adverbial clause
"He saw Mary when he was in New York" and "They studied hard because they had a test" both contain adverbial clauses (in
italics). Adverbial clauses express when, why, where, opposition, and
conditions, As with all dependent clauses, they cannot stand alone. For
example, When he was in New
York is not a complete
sentence; it needs to be completed by an independent clause. For example:
- He went to the Guggenheim
Museum when he was in New York.
or equivalently
- When he was in New York, he went to the Guggenheim Museum.
Dependent clauses and
sentence structure
A sentence with an independent
clause and one or more
dependent clauses is referred to as a complex
sentence. One with two or more
independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses is referred to as a compound-complex sentence. Here are some English examples:
My sister cried because she scraped her knee. (complex sentence)
My sister cried because she scraped her knee. (complex sentence)
- Subjects: My sister, she
- Predicates: cried, scraped her
knee
- Subordinating conjunction:
because
When they told me (that) I won the contest, I cried, but I didn't faint.
**(compound-complex sentence)
- Subjects: they, I, I, I
- Predicates: told me, won the
contest, cried, didn't faint
- Subordinating conjunctions:
when, that (explicit or understood)
- Coordinating conjunction: but
The above sentence
contains two dependent clauses. "When they told me" is one; the other
is "(that) I won the contest", which serves as the object of the verb
"told." The connecting word "that," if not explicitly
included, is understood to implicitly precede "I won" and in either
case functions as a subordinating conjunction. This sentence also includes two
independent clauses, "I cried" and "I didn't faint,"
connected by the coordinating conjunction "but." The first dependent
clause, together with its object (the second dependent clause), adverbially
modifies the verbs of both main clauses.
Non-finite dependent
clauses
Dependent clauses may
be headed by an infinitive or other non-finite
verbform, which in linguistics is called deranked. In these cases, the subject of the dependent clause may take a
non-nominative form. An example is:
- I want him to vanish.
