pronoun - it's part of speech, which is used instead of the name.Not "Peter V.," and "he" is not "the author of these lines," and "I".Possessive pronouns, just as personal, make it possible to make a message more concise.Compare: "Peter Vasilievich shoes" and "his shoes."Possessive pronouns in the English language, as well as in Russian, answers the question "whose» (Whose?), «Who owns?".
This is my hat.- This is my hat.
Her cat trampled on my tulips!- Her cat trampled my tulips!
Your offer is very attractive, but I've already found the job.- Your offer is very attractive, but I have already found a job.
Types
pronouns Possessive pronouns in the English language can be divided into two major groups, depending on what they make grammatical form - absolute or relative.Pronouns in absolute terms quite independent, while the relative pronouns can not be used independently - just before the noun.
compare:
This is my suitcase (This is my suitcase).- This suitcase is mine (This suitcase - mine).
As you can see, in the form of the Russian language has not changed pronouns.In this and in another case, we use the same word - "my".However, in these two sentences different semantic accent.The second statement more categorically.But it's not only that.Separate possessive pronoun is often necessary to simply not clutter it with unnecessary repetition.For example, take such a dialogue:
- Is it your car?(This is your car?).
- No, it is not my car.(No, it's not my car.).
And now another version of the same dialog:
- Is it your car?(This is your car?).
- No, it is not mine.(No, not mine.).
And if the two of you know, what was going on, the dialog may look even shorter.
- Is it yours?(This yours?).
- No, it is not mine.(No, not mine).
relative possessive pronouns in the English language, as already mentioned, are used only before nouns.There are some subtleties: If there is a pronoun, the article is no longer needed.After the pronoun can stand another adjective.For example: my funny red ball - my merry ringing ball.However, there are two adjectives that are used relative to the possessive pronouns: both (both) and all (all).For example: All my balls are red (All my balls - red).
Summary of pronouns in English is given below.
| Personal pronouns | Possessive pronouns (relative form) | Possessive pronouns (absolute form) | example |
| I | my | mine | I am a musician.This is my violin.The violin is mine. |
| We | our | ours | We are students.This is our room.That computer is ours. |
| You | your | yours | You are a student.Is that book yours?Is that your book? |
| He | his | his | He is a freelancer.This is his site.This site is his. |
| She | her | hers | She is playing her violin.The violin is hers. |
| It | its | its | It is a cat.This is its house and this mat is its. |
| They | their | theirs | They are good friends.They are walking with their children.Children are theirs. |
main difficulties
study forms usually does not cause difficulties, as well as the understanding and translation of English texts.But the reverse translation from Russian into English, there are some difficulties.For example, "I called it" and "this is his hat."It would seem that we see here are two absolutely identical words - "it."But can we translate it the same way?If you clearly understand the essence of possessive pronouns, in this situation, do not get confused.Possessive pronoun is used here only in the second case.Whose Hat?- Him.That is - his.However, in the sentence "I called him" the pronoun does not characterize affiliation.This pronoun in the genitive case, answering the question "who?", Respectively, here you need to use the pronoun he in the genitive - him.
There is another common mistake.The Russian language is a universal pronoun "his".In English, this is not, we will talk instead of "its» - her, instead of "her» - their and so on.And what is important, it is a pronoun in some cases replacing the definite article, especially before the noun meaning personal belongings, loved ones, or body parts.For example, "He put on his glasses."As you can see, we believe more than indicate that he was put on his glasses.This implied.Building a phrase in English, we have to consume before the word points, or the definite article or possessive pronoun.In this case, the pronoun it will sound more natural.He puts on his glasses.
How to teach possessive pronouns in English
on the advice of experienced teachers to study grammar will be easy if you follow these rules: Do not rush to parse all the grammatical rules by example, self-tabulations.In fact pronouns - it is one of the simplest to those that contain the English language.Exercises possessive pronoun which is repeated in one form or another, can be found in a variety of tasks.The main exercise to consolidate the above material is found in textbooks or tests - it deals with missing words, where you need to insert the correct form of possessive pronoun.In most cases, to master this topic, it is enough to perform 4-5 such exercises and analyze several texts.
