We use pronouns to replace nouns so that we do not need to repeat the nouns. Pronouns usually refer to someone/something that has already been mentioned.
Frank is my new friend. Frank comes from Canada and I met Frank last week.
Frank is my new friend. He comes from Canada and I met him last week.
Usage
Subject pronouns
Subject pronouns are the subject (S) of a sentence and are followed by a verb (V).
Mr and Mrs Lam are doctors. They are very rich.
Alex : When did the film start?
He him
s v
It is lunchtime. Jane is a new student. She is with David in the playground. He is telling her about some of the students.
1 Pronouns
You see that tall boy over there?
Who is that girl next to the tree?
Yes. He always takes it with him.
His name is Simon.
That’s Jess. She is also a new student. I met her yesterday. My friend Anna introduced me to her.
I have the same backpack. My brother bought it for me for my birthday.
The one with the backpack?
sample
Subject pronoun Object pronoun
Singular
I me
you you
he him
she her
it it
Plural
we us
you you
they them
Object pronouns
Object pronouns are the object (O) of a sentence. They can be:
• a direct object. It usually follows a verb.
Michael : I thought you lost those books.
Jessica : So did I, but I found them under the table.
Our class is noisy. Miss Cheung told us to keep quiet.
• an indirect object. It often follows a preposition (Prep).
Paul gave a new watch to me last Christmas.
This is Kateʼs backpack. I borrowed it from her.
In the case of indirect objects, sometimes the word order is changed and the preposition is omitted.
It was Kelly’s birthday so Henry bought a new bike for her.
It was Kelly’s birthday so Henry bought her a new bike.
NOTE NOTE
We also use the pronoun it to refer to things like time, dates, the weather and distance.
Ellen : What time is it?
Joseph : It is half past three.
Mike : What is the date today?
Sophia : It is the second of June.
Calvin : It is cool today.
Joan : Yes, it is great weather for hiking.
s v o
s v o
s v o Prep o
s v o Prep o
NOTE NOTE
sample
In the Secondary 3 TSA writing tasks as well as in Paper 2 of the HKDSE exam, some students used pronouns incorrectly or inconsistently. This affected the coherence of their writing.
2013 S3 TSA Writing
We went to the airport to see they.
✘
A subject pronoun was used after the verb instead of an object pronoun.2012 HKDSE Paper 2 Part B Question 8
Friendships are like diamonds. It is very strong.
✘
Both friendships and diamonds are plural so the pronoun has to be plural too.2012 HKDSE Paper 2 Part B Question 9
Some of you may even consider sleeping not valuable. However they are wrong.
✘
The wrong subject pronoun was used.Do the Quiz below. Check your understanding of pronouns.
Tick (✔) the correct answers.
1. John and Mavis are both good tennis players. several times a week.
A. They play B. He plays
2. Grace is so lucky. Her parents bought a new laptop for her birthday.
A. her B. him
3. The film was exciting but it lasted two and a half hours. a bit long.
A. They were B. It was
4. I would love to read that book. Could you lend it to please?
A. me B. I
5. My cousins from Australia are visiting. Come round and meet .
A. her B. them
6. There is a programme on TV tonight about Africa. Are you planning to watch ?
A. them B. it
7. Have you seen my blue sweater? I cannot find .
A. me B. it
They are
you
Quiz
✔
them
Exam Report
sample
Exercise 1
Complete the sentences by choosing one of the options in brackets.
1. The short boy is Donald. (He / She) is from England.
2. That is Mary with the glasses. (He / She) is American.
3. Look at Mark’s new shoes. (It / He) bought them last week.
4. Do you know Lucy and James? (We / They) are cousins.
5. Look at Sally’s green dress. (She / It) was a birthday present.
6. The boy with long hair is Raymond. (He lives / They live) in Kennedy Town.
7. Jack’s glasses look strange. (It is / They are) too big for him.
8. Bob : Where do you live, Kelly?
Kelly : (I / You) live in Sha Tin.
Exercise 2
Complete the sentences by choosing one of the options in brackets.
1. Phillip : I think I saw (her / you) last night in Central.
Aunt May : Yes. I was doing some shopping.
2. That is a nice shirt. Where did you get (them / it)?
3. Pat and I are going to the café. Why don’t you join (them / us)?
4. Sam : My uncle gave (me / him) a hundred dollars this morning.
Ken : What are you planning to buy?
5. I cannot come to the party. My brother is sick so I have to look after (him / her).
6. Nice meeting you. I will see (me / you) again tomorrow.
7. Peter : John, do you know Sally?
John : Yes, I met (them / her) last week.
8. Oh no! Look at my new trousers. I just spilled coffee on (them / it).
He
you
sample
Exercise 3
Some of the underlined pronouns in these sentences are wrong. Write the correct answer in the space on the right when necessary. If the underlined pronoun is correct, put a tick (✔) in the space.
1. Tom is a good swimmer. I watched her in a race yesterday.
2. Doris is another good swimmer. She won two races.
3. Rachel, you are hitting the ball too hard. Try and hit her more gently.
4. Jeff and Charles spend all their time playing computer games.
He have no time for homework.
5. Susan is a good tennis player but I beat her yesterday.
6. I really like hiking but I do not do them in the summer. It is too hot.
7. I went hiking with David on Saturday and we got lost.
8. Grace cooked dinner for I last night. It was delicious.
Exercise 4
Complete the sentences using the correct pronouns.
1. Paul likes parties. Why don’t you invite ? He will enjoy it.
2. I think we have met before. Were a student in London last year?
3. Can you help with this maths problem? I am not good at maths.
4. Where are my new shoes? I cannot find anywhere.
5. When you see Susan, can you tell that we are meeting at 7 pm? Last week she arrived late.
6. There are three bridges across the river and are all over 400 years old.
7. If we are not there on time, can you wait for please?
8. Cindy : What time does the bus arrive?
Ben : I think arrives at 6:30 pm.
him
him
sample
Exercise 5
Read the conversation. Fill in the blanks using the correct pronouns.
I just had a wonderful holiday with my family.
Where did (1) you go?
How was the weather?
Do you have any photos?
Yes. (7) are very
nice. Who’s that in this photo?
(2) had a week in Thailand.
(3) was great. Warm and
sunny the whole time although one day
(4) rained.
Lots. This is my sister Jill. (5) is eating a papaya. And how about this one?
Do you like my swimming trunks? I bought
(6) in Phuket.
That’s my brother James. We buried
(8) in the sand up to his neck.
And this is the Chen family.
(9) are also from Hong Kong.
We met (10) in Phuket.
sample
Exercise 6
Read the diary entry. Choose the best option to complete each blank and circle the correct letter.
Cloudy 28 July 20XX
Last Saturday I went with some friends to the beach for the day. I prepared a nice lunch box but then left
(1)on the table. There were four of
(2)in the group and we went to the beach by bus. It was really hot so first thing
(3)all went for a swim. It was so refreshing! We then played volleyball, but after ten minutes Jane and Sarah said it was too hot for
(4)to play. Eric and
(5)continued for another twenty minutes.
I am not good at volleyball so Eric beat
(6)easily. Around lunchtime it became very cloudy and humid. Eric suggested going to a café before it started raining. We all followed
(7)
to a place he knew, but
(8)was full. Sarah said
(9)knew another place so we went there instead. As soon as we got there it started pouring with rain. We had pasta and
(10)was delicious! We stayed there an hour and
it stopped raining. We then went back to the beach, stopping at a shop so Jane could buy a hat. It really suited
(11). We spent the rest of the day on the beach and then watched the sunset.
1. A. them B. it C. me
2. A. them B. you C. us
3. A. we B. I C. us 4. A. me
B. it C. them
5. A. he B. him C. I
6. A. I B. me C. him 7. A. him
B. us C. he
8. A. he B. it C. we
9. A. she B. her C. me 10. A. he
B. it
11. A. she B. them
sample
Wrap-up
Read the following description. Fill in the blanks using the correct pronouns.
Peter and Joan are good friends. (1) have known each other since they were in kindergarten together. Joan is very tall and Peter is quite short. Peter says (2) gets a pain in his neck because he always has to look up at (3) when they speak. Joan is also very slim whereas Peter is a bit fat.
Joan always tells (4) that he eats too many noodles. Peter loves noodles.
(5) are his favourite food.
Joan has very long hair. Peter, on the other hand, keeps his hair very short. Joan is good at sports. (6) is the best runner in our school and also plays on the tennis team.
Peter is not very keen on sports and sometimes says to Joan, ‘Why do (7) like running? You get all hot and sweaty and it’s boring as well.’ ‘Exercise is good for you and everyone should exercise at least three times a week,’ replies Joan.
Peter and Joan are my good friends. We have known each other for ten years. They are good students and both of (8) are very good at English. (9) am also good at English, but Peter and Joan are better than (10) .
The three of (11) are all members of the school’s English Club.
(12) sometimes speak English when we are together. Other students think we are strange, but we like English and think it is a good idea to practise (13) .
They
Write a short description of your best friend. Write about 100 words.
Hint: In a description you can talk about a person’s appearance, character, likes and dislikes.
Use appropriate pronouns when you refer to him or her.
You try
A text type in HKDSE Paper 2
