Pronouns and determiners
Personal, possessive, reflexive, demonstrative and indefinite pronouns, plus each/every/both/either/neither and relative pronoun basics.
Pronouns replace nouns so we do not have to repeat them, and determiners go in front of nouns to show which or how many we mean. Personal pronouns act as the subject (I, he, they) or the object (me, him, them) of a verb, while possessive adjectives (my, your, their) sit before a noun and possessive pronouns (mine, yours, theirs) stand alone. Reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, themselves) point the action back to the subject, and demonstratives (this, that, these, those) point to things near or far. Indefinite pronouns such as someone, anyone, everyone, no one, something and nothing refer to people or things in a general way and take a singular verb. Determiners like each, every, either and neither also work with a singular noun and verb, while both takes a plural one. For example: 'Everyone in the class has finished their test, but neither of the two teachers has marked it yet.'
Key terms
| Determiner | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| each | every single member of a group, taken separately (singular) | Each of the students has a separate desk. |
| every | all members seen as a whole, with a singular noun (singular) | Every boy and girl wears a uniform on Mondays. |
| both | two people or things together (plural verb) | Both of the candidates were well prepared. |
| either | one or the other of two (singular verb) | Either of these two routes is acceptable. |
| neither | not the one and not the other of two (singular verb) | Neither of the two answers was correct. |
| all | every member of a group (plural verb) | All the guests have arrived. |
| none | not any; with an uncountable noun, singular verb | None of the information was useful. |
| Person | Object pronoun | Possessive pronoun | Reflexive pronoun |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | me | mine | myself |
| you (singular) | you | yours | yourself |
| he | him | his | himself |
| she | her | hers | herself |
| it | it | — | itself |
| we | us | ours | ourselves |
| you (plural) | you | yours | yourselves |
| they | them | theirs | themselves |
- 1Sentence: Neither of the two answers ___ correct, so the question was cancelled.
- 2Count the options: There are exactly two answers, and the sentence rejects both of them, so the determiner is neither (not the one and not the other).
- 3Match the verb: neither, like each, every and either, is singular, so it takes a singular verb.
- 4Answer: Neither of the two answers was correct. Compare: Both of the candidates were prepared (both is plural).
- 1Sentence: We organised the whole party ___ without any help.
- 2Find the subject: The subject is we, and the action points back to the same people, so a reflexive pronoun is needed.
- 3Match -self or -selves: we is plural, so the form ends in -selves: ourselves (there is no word 'ourself').
- 4Answer: We organised the whole party ourselves. With a singular subject use -self: She cut herself; with a plural subject use -selves: Help yourselves to some cake.
each and every are singular: say 'Each of the students has a desk' and 'Every boy and girl wears a uniform', not 'have' or 'wear'.
both means two, so it takes a plural verb: 'Both of the candidates were prepared', not 'was'. Do not use both for more than two.
neither means 'not either' — not the one and not the other of two options. 'Would you like tea or coffee? Neither, thank you' refuses both. Use a singular verb: 'Neither of the answers was correct'.
Reflexive pronouns end in -self for a singular subject (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself) and -selves for a plural subject (ourselves, yourselves, themselves); 'ourself' and 'theirself' are not standard forms.
Rules
- 1Use subject pronouns (I, he, she, we, they) before the verb and object pronouns (me, him, her, us, them) after a verb or preposition.
- 2A possessive adjective (my, your, his, our, their) comes before a noun; a possessive pronoun (mine, yours, his, ours, theirs) replaces 'possessive + noun' and stands alone — never use an apostrophe (its = belonging to it, not it's).
- 3Reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves) are used when the subject and object are the same person.
- 4Indefinite pronouns (someone, anyone, everyone, no one, nothing) and the determiners each, every, either, neither are singular and take a singular verb; both is plural.
- 5Use 'who' for people, 'which' for things, and 'that' for either, to introduce a relative clause (the woman who called, the book which/that I read).
Practice
15 easy · 15 medium · 15 hard
10 random questions per test