Pronouns

Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. We often use them to avoid repeating the nouns that they refer to. Pronouns have different forms for the different ways we use them.

Read clear grammar explanations and example sentences to help you understand how pronouns are used. Then, put your grammar knowledge into practice by doing the exercises.

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Hi Recently, I was reading a one act play in which there were two characters, an old man and a boy of fourteen. The old man says to the boy that young kids come here to steal apples, but he (the boy) is not so young. What does the old man mean, the kids coming there to steal apples are younger than this boy or older?

Hi Adya's

I'm afraid it's difficult for me to say, as I haven't read the play. It's not clear to me, for example, whether the old man is including the boy he's speaking to in the category of 'young kids' or not. Some old people will call any child a 'young kid' since they are so much older than the young people.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Sir, I am learning Cambridge Dictionary for Noun section , there are major class of Noun are " Common Noun, Proper Noun, Concrete Noun & Abstract Noun". Sir I gotta know that what About Collective Noun,Count Noun & Uncounted Noun? is they are class of Noun also ?

Hi Imran 26,

I would suggest our pages on count nouns and uncount nouns for those two. Collective nouns are words like 'team' or 'family' that refers to a group of people or things.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

hi Sir, In below sentences there are written as Monday through Thursday. I didn't make it sense why the writer says it like that.. I have read this in news paper. "e-sports is part of the athletics department. Team members have access to athletic trainers and are put through light fitness training. Players attend practice Monday through Thursday, from 4:30 to 9 p.m., with an hour break for dinner."

Hi Imran 26,

'Monday through Thursday' means Monday and all the days between it and Thursday, i.e. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Sir, I'm working in a corporate school as a English teacher for grad 5th to 7th. There are grammar books for academic curriculum; at the title of those books are written as English grammar skill book. At my student life I have learn the book in school was English Grammar and composition book. Sir please let me know whats the difference between the "composition book & skill books" ?

Hi Imran 26,

The titles of books are determined by publishers and by whatever traditions exist in a particular place, as it's important to meet the expectations of students and parents. In a British context, 'composition' refers only to writing, while 'skills' would describe all four language skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

thank you Sir.

Hi I think 'had' is the correct option. The sentence is in the reported speech, with a past tense reporting verb, 'said'. As such the reported part too should have a past tense verb.

Sir, A Student belongs to a university distinguish me about IT & Software Engineering like that way; " IT guys does the developing work while the Software Engineers does the programming job" I could make sense with it why did she use " while" in this sentence.

Hello Imran,

In this sentence, 'while' means 'but', which is one of several meanings of this word (if you follow the link, you'll see the definition and examples for this meaning, but if you move up and down the page you will see the others). Please note that in this sentence, the verb should be 'do' instead of 'does', since 'IT guys' and 'software sngineers' are plural subjects.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, In school time I have read different kinds of noun like,abstract noun,materials noun & other. but I haven't found such kind of noun here. Please let me know the purpose. thank you.

Hi Imran,

Our grammar covers what its author (Dave Willis) thought were the most essential points learners need to become proficient speakers. It is not a comprehensive grammar -- a complete grammar of English would be very large and would not really fulfil the purpose of our site.

The Wikipedia and Cambridge Dictionary websites are good places to begin checking some topics such as the ones you mention. For example, the Wikipedia Noun page has a section on abstract and concrete nouns and the Cambridge Dictionary page on Nouns also explains this to some degree.

If you have any specific questions about a particular point, please let us know.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Sir, I have no concept how to appropriate use of "while" & "during". Please let me sense of it.

Hello Imran26,

The meanings of 'while' and 'during' are very similar. Both describe the time within an ongoing activity or state. The difference is that each is followed by a different form.

After 'while' we need a clause with a subject and a verb, or else a present participle (-ing form):

I saw him while I was working.

I saw him while working.

After 'during' we need a noun:

I saw him during the meeting.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

thank you Sir Peter.

Thanks a lot. ☺️

Hello In the direct speech, if the statement is: She said, "Our brother has left", what "our" will be changed into in the indirect reporting? Will it be "their brother..." or "her brother...? Please also explain the reason therefor. Thanks

Hello Adya's,

If the person reporting is a brother or sister then they can still use 'our'. If the person is not a brother or sister of the person who left then 'their' would be the best choice, since 'our' tells us that there are at least three brothers and sisters in the original group. 'Her' would be grammatically correct and would only tell the listener about the speaker and the brother's relationship, not that there are more of them.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

choose she said she.......... the exam the following week. (has-had-will have-is having)

Hello magdy,

I'm afraid we don't provide answers for tasks from elsewhere. We're happy to explain our own tasks and answer questions about the language as best as we can, but we don't provide help with tests or homework from elsewhere, or exercises someone else has written.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks for reply I just needed help,because I am a non-native speaker of English ...I only teach English as a second language and I think there is no correct answer among the choices.

Hi Sir, would you let me know when I learn English Grammar, should I learn active/passive first or I learn Direct/Indirect nerations ?

Hello Imran 26,

There is no correct order for this. I suggest you choose whichever seems most useful or interesting to you.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Sir, 1- Two and Two make four. 2-Two and Two makes four. please could you let me know which one of the above sounds in correct way.

Hello Imran,

Usually native speakers say 'two plus two equals four' or 'two and two make four'.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

A pronoun is a word that is used for a noun. For examples: I,we,you,they,she,he,it etc..

Sir, I want to know when we use the word 'Any' with Singular countable noun and when with plural countable noun. It's a little confusing for me while writing. I don't have any problem. (any with singular countable noun) Do you have any chocolates ? (any with plural countable noun) why is that so that both noun 'Problem and Chocolate are countable still one with any is in singular form while other in plural ?

Hello SonuKumar,

It is unusual to use 'any' with singular count nouns, but it does happen when the noun has a general meaning. There is some debate whether this is actually a case of the singular count noun being used as a synonym of a non-count noun (any problem as a synonym for any trouble, for example, or any idea as a synonym for any notion).

You can find a discussion of the topic on this page.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, Which case of pronoun should I use after preposition? For example : No one but him / he was present in the meeting. Which pronoun shall I use? Regards

Hello amol,

We use an object pronoun after a preposition, so the correct phrase would be 'no-one but him...'

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, The idea is to tell one that things are possible but Everything is not possible or Not everything is possible. Which one is right 'Everything is not possible or Not everything is possible' ? If both are right, is there a difference between these two ?

Hi SonuKumar,

I'm not sure about the metaphysical side of this question, but 'Not everything is possible' is what I would say. There is nothing grammatically incorrect with the other phrase, but it's not one that people use in speaking or writing. It would also have a different meaning -- it would mean something like 'Everything is impossible' (whereas the other one says that some things are possible and some are not).

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Sir Please let me know Whether it is all right to write this sentence without a comma or a comma is a must before 'but' e.g. I went to the supermarket to buy vegetables, but I couldn't not buy them. The second sentence is: I went to the supermarket to to buy vegetables but could not buy them. Is the second sentence correct without a comma.? Please let me know. Thank you. Regards Lal

Hi Lal,

This really depends on the particular style that a writer follows, but in general in British English I believe the comma is used less often than in American English. Some say that the general rule is that a comma can precede 'but' when 'but' is connecting two independent clauses, e.g. see this BBC page, but not everyone agrees about this. You can find lots of opinions about this by doing an internet search for 'comma before but'.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Is it correct to omit pronouns and say : Today I woke up at 6.00a.m., ran with my dog for an hour, returned to my house, fed my dog, had breakfast, took a shower and practiced my English?

Hi David,

Yes, it is, especially in informal speaking and writing. This is called ellipsis, which you can read a little more about by following the link if you're interested.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

I have a problem with negation . Do we say : he isn't a fool or he is no fool ? It's no secret that..or its not a secret that ..? What's the difference ? When to use each ?

Hello uchiha itache,

Both forms are correct. The only difference is that the form with 'no' is rather stronger in a rhetorical sense, I would say.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Surely we often use the present simple for habits . but what about the future simple with ( will ) I read it can also be used to describe habits . so what's the diffrrence ?

Hello uchiha itache,

We use the present simple to describe habitual behaviour, as you say. 'Will' can be used to describe the behaviour which we expect. It is a form of prediction about the present. For example:

He goes to the shop every morning. [habitual behaviour]

He'll go to the shop every morning. [this is what I expect based on what I know]

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, As you said, "He goes to the shop every morning, shows habitual behaviour." and "He will go to the shop every morning, shows this is what I expect based on what I know." Then I think the same applies for the situation below. He went to the shop every morning. (Habitual action) He would go to the shop every morning. (This is what I expect based on what I know) Right ?

Hi SonuKumar,

Both of your sentences refer to habitual past actions. 'would' isn't used to refer to past expected actions but rather for past repeated actions. You can read more about this use of 'would' on our Past habits page.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks a lot

Hello! I am so confused whether I have to use above or over JUST to say in a higher postition . please explain it . and do we really use above for things on the same flat plane? And If so, why don't we use over? Cause it means directly above . Please tell me when they're interchangeable and give exactly the same meaning and when they aren't .

Hi uchiha itache,

In general, 'above' is used to speak about a higher level, though it's important to know what specific context or contexts you have in mind.

I don't see how one object could be 'above' or 'over' another if they are both on the same flat plane – could you give a specific example? The proximity of one object to the other is also an important factor.

In any case, I'd recommend look at this Cambridge Dictionary entry on just this question. If you have any further questions, you're welcome to ask them but please provide a specific sentence in context.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, She acts like ( in a manner that ) any other girl would not do. I think in this sentence it wouldn't be right to use the word 'Another' which means one more rather than Any other which, in this sentence, means No other girl, right ?

Hello SonuKumar,

In this sentence 'any other girl' does not mean 'no other girl'. Rather, 'any other girl' means the opposite - it means 'every girl - it doesn't matter which one you choose'.

If I understand your intention correctly and you wish to say that her behaviour is different from every other girl's, then the best way to phrase the sentence would be as follows:

She acts like no other girl would

or

She acts in a way that no other girl would

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, Can we also say " She acts as no other girl would do" and "She acts the way no other girl would do" I mean Can we use 'As and The way' rather than 'Like or In a way or manner' In this sentence ?