Pronouns 代名詞
BasicPronouns: object, possessive and reflexive.
- Subject pronouns do the action: I, he, she, we, they; object pronouns receive it: me, him, her, us, them.
- Possessive adjectives come before nouns: my card, her desk.
- Possessive pronouns stand alone: These scissors are mine. That bottle is hers.
文體小知識：Learn basic grammar.
§Text Passage
1Last week, our class made cards for our parents. I drew a picture of myself on my card. Amy painted flowers all by herself. Ken and Tom wrote poems by themselves. I asked Amy if that bottle of glue was hers. She said it was not hers, and it was Ken's.
2These scissors are mine, and those coloured pens are Tom's. Miss Lee showed us a card that she made when she was a student. We gave our cards to our mothers and fathers on Parents' Day. Our teacher took a photo of us with our cards. We showed them to everyone. They were very surprised and happy.
3My mother put my card on her desk at home. She told me that I made it by myself, and she was proud of me. It is only a small card, but it can make people smile. You can make one too, and it will be yours forever. Everyone loves a handmade gift.
§Sentence-by-sentence translation Sentence-by-sentence translation
Last week, our class made cards for our parents.
上個星期，我們班整了一些卡片給爸爸媽媽。
I drew a picture of myself on my card.
我在自己的卡片上面畫了一幅畫。
Amy painted flowers all by herself.
Amy 自己一個人畫了一些花。
Ken and Tom wrote poems by themselves.
Ken 同 Tom 自己寫了一些詩。
I asked Amy if that bottle of glue was hers.
我問 Amy 那樽漿糊是不是他的。
She said it was not hers, and it was Ken's.
他說不是他的，是 Ken 的。
These scissors are mine, and those coloured pens are Tom's.
這把剪刀是我的，那些彩色筆就是 Tom 的。
Miss Lee showed us a card that she made when she was a student.
李老師給我們看他做學生的時候整的一張卡片。
We gave our cards to our mothers and fathers on Parents' Day.
家長日那一天，我們把這些卡片送給爸爸媽媽。
Our teacher took a photo of us with our cards.
老師幫我們同這些卡片拍了一張照片。
We showed them to everyone.
我們把這些卡片給所有人看。
They were very surprised and happy.
他們覺得又驚喜又開心。
My mother put my card on her desk at home.
媽媽把我的卡片放在家裡她的書桌上面。
She told me that I made it by myself, and she was proud of me.
他說這是我自己親手整的，還說很為我驕傲。
It is only a small card, but it can make people smile.
他雖然只是一張小卡片，但都可以令人會心微笑。
You can make one too, and it will be yours forever.
你也可以整一張，他會永遠屬於你。
Everyone loves a handmade gift.
每個人都喜歡收到親手做的禮物。
1Summary 重點摘要
Pronouns: object, possessive and reflexive.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
The person speaking. Subject form: I drew a picture.
The person or people spoken to. You can make one too.
A boy or man. Object form: him — I saw him yesterday.
A girl or woman. Possessive: her — her desk.
A thing or an animal. It is only a small card.
The speaker plus others. Object form: us — Miss Lee showed us a card.
Other people or things. Object form: them — We showed them to everyone.
Belonging to me, used alone. These scissors are mine.
Reflexive plural. They wrote poems by themselves.
3Step by step Steps
- Subject pronouns do the actionI, you, he, she, it, we and they are subject pronouns: they do the action at the front of the sentence. She made a card. We gave our cards to our parents. Ask who does the action, and use that form. Do not write Her made a card; read the sentence back and check that the first word is the doer.
- Object pronouns receive the actionme, you, him, her, it, us and them are object pronouns: they receive the action after a verb or a preposition. Miss Lee showed us a card. I saw him yesterday. The slip to avoid is a subject form after a preposition: between you and me, not between you and I. After a verb or preposition, always take the object form.
- Possessive adjectives + nounmy, your, his, her, its, our and their always come before a noun: my card, her desk, their teachers. They answer the question whose. Note that its shows belonging while it's is short for it is — spelling tests love this pair. Ask yourself: is there a noun after the word? Only then use a possessive adjective.
- Possessive pronouns stand alonemine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs stand alone with no noun after them: These scissors are mine. That bottle is hers. Compare This is my bottle with This bottle is mine — same meaning, different structure. Never write mine bottle: with a noun use my, without a noun use mine.
- Reflexive pronounsmyself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves and themselves send the action back to the subject: Amy painted flowers all by herself. Two common uses: by oneself means alone, and the reflexive is also needed when the doer and the receiver are the same person, as in I taught myself. hisself is never a word.
- Demonstrative pronounsthis (near, one), that (far, one), these (near, many), those (far, many): These scissors are mine. Those pens are Tom's. They can be pronouns or adjectives before a noun, as in this book. The slip is mixing near and far — pointing at something close while saying that. Check the distance and the number before you answer.
5Worked example Example
Question: How do we choose between subject, object, possessive and reflexive pronouns?
- Step 1: Ask what the word does in the sentence: the doer takes the subject form, the receiver or the word after a preposition takes the object form.
- Step 2: Subject forms open the sentence — I made a card. She was proud. — both openers are doers.
- Step 3: Object positions follow a verb or a preposition — Mum is proud of me. Give it to them. — after of and to use the object form.
- Step 4: For possessives, look at what follows: a noun takes my/her/their (my card); no noun takes mine/hers/theirs (It is mine.).
- Step 5: When the doer and the receiver are the same person, use the reflexive — I made it by myself. — to stress doing it alone.
- Answer: Sample answer: I made a card by myself and gave it to my mother. She was proud of me. Amy painted her card by herself, and Ken and Tom wrote theirs by themselves.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1Object of we?
Q2Possessive of they?
Q3Reflexive of he?
Q4___ book (this)?
Q5___ are my friends (those)?
8Recap Recap
- Subject pronouns do the action: I, he, she, we, they; object pronouns receive it: me, him, her, us, them.
- Possessive adjectives come before nouns: my card, her desk.
- Possessive pronouns stand alone: These scissors are mine. That bottle is hers.
- Reflexive pronouns: by myself / herself / themselves — only when doer and receiver are the same person.
- Polite order: My friend and I (never Me and my friend).