Pronouns: what they are, functions, types, examples

Pronouns are words that replace, determined we follow nouns. Also, they indicate the speech person(first, second or third, singular or plural). You types of pronouns they are:

• personal

• of treatment

• statements

• possessive

• relative

• undefined

• interrogatives

What is a pronoun?

For grammarian Domingos Paschoal Cegalla, pronouns “are words that replace nouns or determine them, indicating the person of the speech”. Now for the grammarian Luiz Antonio sacconi, pronoun “is the word that replaces or accompanies a noun (noun), in relation to the persons in the speech”.

From this perspective, the pronoun "he" it can be called so because it replaces a noun:

Example:

• Jorge bought a bicycle. He worked for a year to save money.

Note that, in these two periods, the pronoun “He” replaces the word "Jorge", which is a proper noun.

Thus:

• Jorge bought a bicycle. He [Jorge] worked for a year to save money.

Pronouns play an essential role in cohesion and coherence, avoiding the repetition of terms.

Next, let's analyze these verses by the poet Castro Alves:

"Don't break your links,

O ribbon bow!"

In them, the pronoun “yours” determines, indicates, whose "links" are, that is, they are from the “ribbon loop”. Furthermore, “yours” accompanies the noun “links”.

In the first example, the person of the speech indicated by the pronoun "He" and the third person singular. In the second example, the person in the speech indicated by the pronoun "your" and the second person singular.

Thus, what was said by Cegalla and Sacconi is proven: the pronoun is a word that replaces, accompanies or determines a noun. In addition to indicating the people in the speech, who are involved in the communicative act. The first person is the one who speaks; the second, with whom you speak; and the third, of whom we are talking.

Types of Pronouns

Pronouns can be classified as follows:

• Personal pronouns

SPEECH PEOPLE	STRAIGHT CASE	OBLIQUE CASE
1^The singular person	me	me, me, with me
2^The singular person	you	you, you, with you
3^The singular person	he she	the, the, the, if, if, if, with you
1^The plural person	we	us, with us
2^The plural person	you	ye, with you
3^The plural person	they	the, the, the, if, if, if, with you

You personal pronouns of the straight casecan only exercise the subject function at prayer.Example:

• The book on the table has disappeared. He stayed there for a week.

Note that “The book” is the subject of the first clause and that the pronoun “He”, which replaces it, is the subject of the second clause. Therefore, a sentence like "The book, I left it on the table" would be incorrect, according to normative grammar, because "it" cannot exercise the function of complement. This function is reserved for personal pronouns of the oblique case.

Watch:

• The book was on the table. I got-O and I put-O on the bookcase.

Notice that the oblique pronoun "o" replaces the noun “book”. In this example, he is complement of the verbs “take” and “put”.

Read too: Unaccented oblique pronouns: functions and uses

• Pronouns treatment

“Your Majesty” is a pronoun for dealing with kings and queens.

You pronouns treatment are used to drive-if, formally, to an interlocutor. Sometimes they are used to refer to someone. However, “vyou" it is a treatment pronoun what, per exception to the rule, it's informal.

PRONOUNS TREATMENT	USES
sir or madam	respectful treatment
your lordship	ceremony people, business correspondence, senior officials
Your Honor	high authorities
Your Eminence	cardinals
Your Highness	princes, princesses and dukes
Your Majesty	queens, kings, emperors, empresses
Your Most Reverend	priests and religious in general
Your Magnificence	university deans
Your Honor	judges of law
Your Holiness	pope

Attention: we use the term "yours” when we head directly to the interlocutor. For example, imagine that John is talking to a king:

João: Your Majesty Could you fulfill my order?

King: I need to think about it.

If John is talking about the king, then the term "Yours" is replaced by "Your”.

João: Your Majesty You said you'll think about fulfilling my request.

Laura: So there is still hope.

• Demonstrative pronouns

You demonstrative pronounspoint out people, objects, places etc.

SPEECH PEOPLE	SITUATION IN SPACE	SITUATION IN TIME	VARIABLES	INVARIABLE
1^The people	proximity to the speaker	gift	this, this, these, these	this
2^The people	proximity to the person you are talking to or something not far away	near past or future	this, this, these, these	that
3^The people	proximity to the person you are talking about or something very distant	remote past	that, that, those, those	that one

Examples (space situation):

• Take it it is chair that is on here.

• Take it That chair that is Ouch.

• Take it that one chair that is there.

Examples (situation in time):

• This one year is passing very slowly, we are still in March.

• At the last year, found out the truth about you. In that year, my life changed.

• I was born in the year 1986. in that year, the World Cup took place in Mexico.

In addition to these main demonstrative pronouns, there are also the following: same, same, same, same, proper, proper, proper, proper, such, such, similar, similar. So we have:

• We were mistreated by the hospital director, but we will not admit similar attitude next time.

• I called Mr. Alexandre, but such person did not answer.

Read too: Use of demonstrative pronouns

• Possessive pronouns

You possessive pronouns indicate a relationship of possession associated with the person of the speech.

SPEECH PEOPLE	POSSESSIONS
1^The singular person	mine, mine, mine, mine
2^The singular person	your, your, your, your
3^The singular person	your, your, your, your
1^The plural person	our, our, our, our
2^The plural person	your, your, your, your
3^The plural person	your, your, your, your

So, let's look at the following prayers:

• Leocádia lived the your life without intruding on others.

• THE mine house was all flooded.

In these two examples, there is a possession relationship. In the first, life belongs Leocadia. In the second, the house belongs to the enunciator (the one who exposes the fact that the house was all flooded).

• Relative pronouns

You relative pronouns refer to previously mentioned nouns in prayer. Are they:

VARIABLES	INVARIABLE
which whose how much	who what Where

So we have:

• The boy yelled at the woman, which was extremely angry about it.

• The tree whose branches were broken just fell.

• The country Where occurred the attack was in shock.

• The car what I bought it arrives tomorrow.

Note that in the first example, the pronoun “which” refers to the previous term “woman”. At the second, the pronoun “whose” refers to the previous term “tree”, as it indicates a relationship of possession, as the “branches” belong to the “tree”. At the third, the pronoun “where” refers to the previous term “country”. Finally, in the room, the pronoun “that” refers to the previous term “car”.

See too: How to correctly use the relative pronoun “who”?

• Indefinite Pronouns

You Indefinite Pronouns refer to something or someone inaccurately.

VARIABLES	INVARIABLE
some none whole much little right diverse various other how much so much which any	something somebody nothing nobody  everything  each  other  what who

In the examples below, the pronouns present imprecision:

• if you say something about this, will regret it.

• Nobody can claim that history happened that way.

• Who he did this, he knew he would not go unpunished.

• I understand the what he said.

• None city ​​got the prize.

• Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are words used in questions.

You interrogative pronouns they are used in interrogative sentences, that is, where there is a question. They are: who, who, which, which, how much, how many, how much, how many. Thus:

• How much do those pants cost?

• What action will you take to solve the problem?

• Which are are the seasons?

solved exercises

Question 01 (Enem)

The strip's humor stems from the reaction of one of the snakes to the use of a straight personal pronoun rather than an oblique pronoun. According to the standard language standard, this use is inappropriate because
a) contradicts the use foreseen for the oral registration of the language.

b) it contradicts the marking of the syntactic functions of subject and object.

c) generates inadequacy in the agreement with the verb.

d) generates ambiguity in the reading of the text.

e) presents double subject marking.

Resolution

Alternative b. In the second square, we can read: “Let's tear them apart”. According to the standard norm, the personal pronoun of the straight case “they” can only exercise the function of subject, never complement (as it is in the sentence).

Question 02 (Enem)

When Rubem Braga had no subject, he opened the window and found one. When I didn't find it, it was the same, he he opened the window, looked at the world and communicated that there was no issue. He did this with so much ingenuity and art that it was also the same: the chronicle was done. I don't have Reuben's ingenuity or art, but I have an open veranda over the Lagoon – I may not see better, but I see more. […] Nelson Rodrigues had no problems. When there was no subject, he invented. One afternoon I illegally parked the Sinca-Chambord on the sidewalk of the newspaper. He I had the paper in the machine and temporarily out of the question. He made it up to me getting out of a gleaming Rolls Royce with a suspicious blonde, but equivalent to the sumptuousness of the car. A guard stopped us, I tried to bribe the authority with money, the guard didn't accept the money, he preferred the blonde. I was without the fine and without the woman. Nelson was not left without the subject.

CONY, C. H. Sheet of S. Paul. Jan 2 1998 (adapted).

The author made use of linguistic resources that helped him to retrieve the information given without repeating a reference textually. These resources belong to the use of language and gain meaning in language practices. This is what happens with the uses of the pronoun “he” highlighted in the text. With this strategy, the author managed

a) confuse the reader, who doesn't know when the text refers to one or another chronicler.

b) compare Rubem Braga with Nelson Rodrigues, giving preference to the former.

c) refer to Rubem Braga and Nelson Rodrigues using the same textual articulation resource.

d) suggest that the two authors write chronicles on similar subjects.

e) produce an obscure text, whose ambiguities impede the reader's understanding.

Resolution

Alternative c. The personal pronoun of the straight case “ele”, in the text, replaces, in the first two occurrences, the proper noun “Rubem Braga”. In the last two, the pronoun refers to “Nelson Rodrigues”.

Question 03

Check the alternative where the occurrence of a relative pronoun can be verified.

a) She bought her sister's house.

b) Found the glasses he had lost.

c) What days are you home?

d) Nothing irritates more than the lack of punctuality.

e) I need that outfit over there.

Resolution:

Alternative b. In the sentence “He found the glasses he had lost”, the relative pronoun “that” takes up the noun “glasses”.