PRONOUNS.
Definition.
A pronoun is a reference word, standing for a name,
or for a person or thing, or for a group of persons or things.
The need of pronouns.
72. When we wish to speak
of a name several times in succession, it is clumsy and tiresome to repeat the
noun. For instance, instead of saying, "The pupil will succeed in the
pupil's efforts if the pupil is ambitious," we improve the sentence
by shortening it thus, "The pupil will succeed in his efforts if
he is ambitious."
Again, if we wish to know about the ownership of a house,
we evidently cannot state the owner's name, but by a question we say,
"Whose house is that?" thus placing a word instead of the name till we
learn the name.
This is not to be understood as implying that pronouns
were invented because nouns were tiresome, since history shows that
pronouns are as old as nouns and verbs. The use of pronouns must have sprung up
naturally, from a necessity for short, definite, and representative words.
73. Pronouns may be grouped
in five classes:—
(1) Personal pronouns, which distinguish person by
their form (Sec. 76).
(2) Interrogative pronouns, which are used to ask
questions about persons or things.
(3) Relative pronouns, which relate or refer to a
noun, pronoun, or other word or expression, and at the same time connect two
statements They are also called conjunctive.
(4) Adjective pronouns, words, primarily
adjectives, which are classed as adjectives when they modify nouns, but as
pronouns when they stand for nouns.
(5) Indefinite pronouns, which cannot be used as
adjectives, but stand for an indefinite number of persons or things. |
