Pronouns for Class 9

Definition of Pronouns

Pronouns refer to words that are used to substitute nouns from sentences or paragraphs to avoid repetition of words. For example, The boy who played the piano won a prize.

Types of Pronouns

Types of pronouns for class 9 are:

1. Personal Pronoun

Words that are used to substitute proper nouns are known as personal pronouns. Examples of personal pronouns are you, I, he, she, it, etc.

There are two cases of personal pronouns:

1. Subjective Case: Pronouns that act as the subject or replace the subject in a sentence are called subjective pronouns. For example, you, I, he, she, it, they, etc.
2. Objective Case: Pronouns that act as the object or replace the object in a sentence are called objective pronouns. For example, her, him, me, it, us, you, them, etc.

Uses of personal pronoun in a sentence:

→ Ammie took all the books she wanted from the shelf. ‘She’ is a personal pronoun used in place of the proper noun Ammie.
→ Harold was looking for his bag all day but he was not able to find it. ‘He’ is a personal pronoun used in place of the proper noun Harold.

2. Relative Pronoun

Relative pronouns serve as a link between different clauses in a sentence. Examples of relative pronouns are who, that, whom, whose and which.

Uses of relative pronouns in a sentence:

→ The project which Amanda submitted was beautiful. ‘Which’ is a relative pronoun used to link clauses of sentences.
→ The friend who borrowed my notes forgot to return them. The relative pronoun ‘who’ is used when referring to a person.

3. Reflexive Pronoun

Pronouns that reflect something or someone are known as reflexive pronouns. Examples of reflexive pronouns are yourself, myself, herself, himself, oneself, themselves, ourselves, itself and yourselves.

Uses of reflexive pronouns:

→ The students challenged themselves with difficult questions. Themselves is a reflexive pronoun used for multiple people.
→ He found himself caught in a storm. The pronoun ‘himself’ is used for a male person.

4. Intensive Pronoun

Words with suffixes ‘-selves’ and ‘-self’ are intensive pronouns. Intensive pronouns or emphatic pronouns are words which are used to emphasise another noun or a pronoun.

Uses of intensive pronoun in a sentence:

→ She herself solved the challenging puzzles. ‘Herself’ is an intensive pronouns which emphasises the pronoun ‘she’.
→ He himself admitted his mistake. ‘Himself’ is an intensive pronoun which emphasises the pronoun ‘he’.

5. Demonstrative Pronoun

Pronouns that are used to demonstrate or identify people or objects are known as demonstrative pronouns. These describe the distance of objects or people. Examples of demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these, those, etc.

Uses of demonstrative pronoun in a sentence:

→ These are the brownies I baked. In the given sentence ‘these’ are pointing out to brownies that have been baked by the speaker.
→ Can you please pass me those papers? We use ‘those’ when something is kept at a distance.

6. Indefinite Pronoun

A pronoun that does not specifically refer to any one person, amount or object is called an indefinite pronoun. Examples are something, anything, everyone, anyone, nowhere, everything, everywhere, etc.

Uses of indefinite pronouns in a sentence:

→ I have looked for your wallet everywhere. In this sentence, it is not specified where the speaker looked for the wallet. Thus ‘everywhere’ is an indefinite pronoun.
→ If you want anything please let me know. ‘Anything’ is an indefinite pronoun used in the sentence.

7. Distributive Pronoun

Distributive pronouns are those that are used to refer to numerous individuals or objects at once. Examples are no one, none, any, neither, either, everyone, each, etc.

Uses of distributive pronouns in a sentence:

→ Neither Alex nor you can go outside. This sentence specifies both the people therefore ‘neither’ is a distributive pronoun.
→ No one voted for him. ‘No one’ is a distributive pronoun.

8. Possessive Pronoun

To show ownership of something, we employ possessive pronouns. Examples are hers, yours, his, mine, ours, their, etc.

Uses of possessive pronouns in a sentence:

→ In a potluck party, everyone should bring their own dishes. ‘Their’ is a possessive pronoun used in this sentence.
→ Your opinion matters to us. ‘Your’ shows the possession of an opinion by someone. Therefore it is a possessive pronoun.

9. Interrogative Pronoun

Pronouns used to inquire about something are called interrogative pronouns. Examples of interrogative pronouns are who, whom, which, what and whose.

Uses of interrogative pronouns:

→ Who was here before? ‘Who’ is an interrogative pronoun used to inquire about a person.
→ Whom do you trust? ‘Whom’ is an interrogative pronoun used to inquire about a person.

10. Reciprocal Pronoun

Pronouns that signify a relationship between two subjects or objects are called reciprocal pronouns. There are only two reciprocal pronouns; these are each other and one another.

Uses of reciprocal pronouns in a sentence:

→ They are not talking to each other.
→ The teammates encourage one another during a tough game.

Pronouns Rules and Orders

Order of Pronouns

1. If there is a compound subject (two or more subjects) or a compound object (two or more objects) that includes me or I, I or me pronoun is always placed last.
   For example, You, she and I will go to watch a movie tonight.
2. The right order to use pronouns when there is a compound subject is second person, third person and first person.
   For example, You, he and I are a part of this committee.

Rules for Pronouns

1. Personal pronouns are used in place of nouns, thus it must be of the same number, gender and person as the noun which it replaces.

For example:

→ Johnny is a helpful employee. He helped Joseph with his tasks.
→ Those beggars are lazy. They don’t want to work hard.

2. When we use pronouns for collective nouns, it must be in the singular number or neuter gender if the collective noun is viewed as a whole.

For example: The team celebrated its victory.

3. If a collective noun implies that various individuals collectively make up a whole, we must use plural pronouns.

For example: The class clapped for their new teacher. Here the ‘class’ gives the ideas of several individuals or students as a whole.

4. If two or more singular nouns are joined by ‘and’, we use plural pronouns.

For example: James and Kyle were working all day. They are tired.

5. If two singular nouns are joined by and refer to the same thing or person, we should use singular pronouns.

For example: The teacher and principal are responsible for her duties.

6. When two singular nouns joined by ‘and’ are preceded by every or each, we must use singular pronouns.

For example: Every teacher and student should not use their phone during class.

7. When two or more singular nouns are connected by ‘or’ or either or, neither nor, generally we use singular pronouns.

For example: Jacob or George forgot to take his documents.

8. When a plural noun and a singular noun are joined by ‘or’ or ‘nor’, we should use plural pronouns.

For example: Either the mother or her son buys their groceries every weekend.

9. When a pronoun refers to more than one pronoun or noun of different individuals, it should be of the first personal plural in preference to the second, and of the second personal plural in preference to the third.

For example: You and I have to do our tasks.

10. Each of the personal pronouns (like I, he, she, they, we) has a different form for the accusative case ( like me, him, her, them, us). Many students use I for me, when a pronoun is connected by a conjunction like ‘and’ or ‘or’ with some other word in the accusative case.

For example: She is looking for you and me.

Uses of Pronouns in Sentences

1. You should call her.
2. In the museum, each antique has its own history.
3. The CEO and his team presented their innovative ideas at the conference.
4. Despite the chaos, he managed to keep his composure.
5. The chef prepared a dish using his blend of spices.

FAQs

1. What are pronouns for class 9?

Answer: Pronouns refer to words that are used to replace nouns in sentences or paragraphs. For example, You and I have to attend this meeting.

2. What are the types of pronouns for class 9?

Answer: Types of pronouns for class 9 are:

1. Personal Pronoun: he, she, they
2. Possessive Pronoun: hers, ours, yours
3. Reflexive Pronoun: yourself, itself, himself
4. Relative Pronoun: who, what, which
5. Intensive Pronoun: herself, himself, itself
6. Demonstrative Pronoun: this, that, those, these
7. Indefinite Pronoun: several, any, none
8. Distributive Pronoun: everyone, any, neither
9. Interrogative Pronoun: whose, who, which
10. Reciprocal Pronoun: each other, one another

3. What are some examples of pronouns?

Answer: Examples of pronouns are you, he, him, his, I, we, us, they, them, his, her, myself, himself, herself, ourselves, themselves, our.