English pronouns. The prepositions of place, time, direction

Pronouns and prepositions play an important role in the English language.

Pronouns are the words that take the place of a noun. They keep the communication going with or without the nouns. Pronouns are used to keep nouns from getting repetitive or when nouns are not clearly known.

Prepositions are the words that show a relationship in space or time or a logical relationship between two or more people, places or things. Prepositions are most commonly followed by a noun phrase or pronoun.

So, today in the lesson we will:

● talk about the types of English pronouns;

● revise the prepositions of place, time and direction;

And

● put the knowledge into practice.

There are different types of pronouns in the English language. Let’s talk about some of them.

Subject pronouns

They replace nouns that are the subject of their clause. We use subject pronouns before a verb to show who is doing the verb. We don’t usually leave out the pronoun.

The subject pronouns are:

I, he, she, it, we, you, they

For instance:

Do you need a table for three?

Jim is angry, and he wants Sally to apologize.

Object pronouns

They replace nouns that are the direct or indirect object of a clause. We can use object pronouns after a verb or after a preposition.

The object pronouns are:

Me, him, her, it, us, you, them

For example:

Evelyn is coming to visit us in December.

Thanks again for everything you did for me.

Pay attention! We can use object pronouns as complements of the verb “to be”.

For instance:

That’s him. That’s the man I was talking about.

Possessive adjectives and pronouns

They both refer to possession. Possessive pronouns replace possessive nouns as either the subject or the object of a clause. Possessive adjectives are not pronouns but rather determiners. They don’t replace a noun as possessive pronouns do.

The possessive adjectives are:

My, his, her, its, our, your, their

The possessive pronouns are:

Mine, his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs

For instance:

That’s not their house. Theirs has got a red front door.

Each village has its own special charm.

Reflexive pronouns

They refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause. Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves.

The reflexive pronouns are:

Myself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourself/yourselves, themselves

For instance:

She made herself a cup of tea and sat down in front of the television.

Parents often blame themselves for the way their children behave.

Reflexive pronouns are used:

after certain verbs such as behave, burn, cut, enjoy, hurt, etc., when the subject and the object are the same. For example: He cut himself while he was chopping vegetables.

after the verbs “be”, “feel”, “look”, “seem”. For instance: Helen doesn’t seem herself lately.

after prepositions, except the prepositions of place. For example: The children can take care of themselves.

after the words “wash” and “dress” when talking about young children or animals. For instance: She’s been teaching her daughter how to dress herself.

Relative pronouns

They introduce relative clauses. The relative pronoun we use depends on what we are referring to and the type of relative clause.

The most common relative pronouns are:

Who, which, that, whose, whom.

“Who” is used to talk about people and sometimes pets.

“Which” is used to talk about animals and things.

We use “that” to talk about people, animals and things.

“Whose” is used for people and animals, sometimes for things in formal situations.

“Whom” is used for people in formal styles or in writing and instead of “who” if “who” is the object.

For example:

We don’t know the person who donated this money.

The police are looking for the car whose driver was masked.

Demonstrative pronouns

They are used to show or identify one or a number of nouns that may be far or near in distance or time.

The demonstrative pronouns are:

This, these, that, those

“This” and “these” are used when something is near in distance or time.

“That” and “those” are used when something is far in distance or time.

For instance:

Your cookies are much better than those over there.

We were looking for this book of recipes.

Indefinite pronouns

They replace the nouns that are not specified. We can use -body, -one, -thing, -where to refer to people, places and things in a general way.

The indefinite pronouns are:

Somebody, someone, something, somewhere, anybody, anyone, anything, anywhere, everybody, everyone, everything, everywhere, etc.

For example:

Is anyone helping Claire with the washing up?

I’m looking for somewhere I can store my bike.

We’ve talked about different types of English pronouns. Now…

Complete the sentences with suitable pronouns!

Let’s check the right answers!

1. Give me a glass of water, please! I am thirsty.

2. Christopher can’t find his own passport anywhere.

3. I’m going to get my hair cut this afternoon.

4. When our washing machine broke, our neighbours let us use theirs.

5. The children made the entire meal by themselves.

6. He is marrying a girl whose father doesn’t seem to like him.

7. If you press that button over there, the motor will start.

Now let’s talk about the prepositions of place, time and direction.

A preposition of place is used to refer to a place where something or someone is located.

There are 3 main prepositions of place in English. And they are:

At (It’s used to show an exact position or a particular place.)

For example:

Megan is at the bus stop.

On (It’s used for more specific places, like certain streets.)

For instance:

They finally found the cat up on the roof.

In (It’s used for the largest or most general places such as countries, cities, etc.)

For example:

I spent half the morning sitting in a traffic jam.

The other prepositions of place are:

Next to/beside (the meaning is: at the side of someone or something)

For example:

He walked beside me as we went down the street.

Above (it means: at a higher place or position than something or someone)

Our friends in the apartment above us are really noisy.

Between (the meaning is: something in the middle of two objects or places)

There are mountains between Chile and Argentina.

Under (it means: below or at a lower level than something)

We slept under the open sky.

Behind (the meaning is: at or towards the back of a thing or person)

I slowed down because there was a police car behind me.

And so on.

A preposition of time is a preposition that allows us to discuss a specific period of time.

There are 3 main prepositions of time in English. And they are:

At (It’s used for a holiday period, with the words “night”, “noon”, “midnight”, “weekend” or to show an exact or particular time.)

For instance:

What did you do at the weekend?

In (It’s used for months, seasons, years, centuries, with the words “morning”, “evening”, “afternoon” or to show a period of time.)

For example:

It will be ready in 20 minutes.

On (It’s used for days of the week, for specific dates and for special days.)

For instance:

We will visit you on Wednesday.

The other prepositions of time are:

Until/till (the meaning is: up to a certain time)

For example:

We waited until half past six for you.

Ago (it means: back in the past or back in time from the present)

He left the house over an hour ago.

Since (the meaning is: from a particular time in the past until a later time)

Forty years have passed away since they met.

For (it’s used to show an amount of time)

I’m just going to bed for an hour or so.

From (it’s used to show the time when something starts)

Her visit will extend from Monday to Friday.

And so on.

A preposition of direction/movement is used to show movement from one place to another. These prepositions are often used with the verbs of motion.

The prepositions of direction/movement are:

Towards (the meaning is: in the direction of someone or something)

For example:

He noticed two police officers coming towards him.

To (it’s used to indicate a destination or direction)

I would like to go to the cinema.

Across (it means: movement from one side of something to the opposite side)

We saw them walking across the street.

Over (the meaning is: movement at a higher level than something else)

He jumped over the wall and ran off.

Down (it indicates movement to a lower position)

It’s easier to run down the hill than go up.

And so on.

We’ve talked about the prepositions of place, time and direction. Now…

Read the sentences and choose the correct preposition!

1. A plane was flying low under/over/down the trees.

2. I turned to speak to the person standing across/between/behind me.

3. We have been waiting for you since/for/towards 10 o’clock.

4. He went from/down/to a new school in London.

5. They walked across/above/from to the other side of the street.

6. The girls sat between/under/over the tree and rested a while.

7. He waited from/ago/until she had finished speaking.

Let’s check the right answers!

1. Over

2. Behind

3. Since

4. To

5. Across

6. Under

7. Until

– Well done, friends! Now you know more about English pronouns and the prepositions of place, time and direction.

– That’s all for today. See you soon.