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Monday. August 14 2017- 5th Blog E-notes

Advanced English Grammar

Last Monday, we talked about....

What Is a Demonstrative Pronoun?

The demonstrative pronouns and demonstrative adjectives modify nouns - the most popular are this, that, these and those. The only difference between demonstrative pronouns and demonstrative adjectives is that demonstrative adjectives are followed by nouns while demonstrative pronouns are not.

Defining a Demonstrative Pronoun

Demonstrative pronouns are the same pronouns used for demonstrative adjectives - this, that, these and those. The difference is in the sentence structure.

·         The demonstative pronoun takes the place of the noun phrase.

·         The demonstrative adjective is always followed by a noun.

For example, here are some demonstrative pronouns that are taking the place of the underlined noun phrase:

·         The food you’re cooking smells delicious. --> That smells delicious.

·         The pretzel-like yoga move we’re doing really hurts. --> This really hurts.

·         What is the strange, polka-dotted, Sasquatch-like creature coming toward us? --> What is that?

·         The cockroaches currently giving birth under our kitchen sink are totally gross. --> Those are totally gross.

·         The delicious, pink petit fours on my plate are my favorites. --> These are my favorites.

There are three other words that are sometimes used as demonstrative pronouns - such, none, and neither.

Examples are: 

·         He will allow none.

·         Neither will do.

·         Such is the human race, often it seems a pity that Noah... didn't miss the boat. - Mark Twain

Using a Demonstrative Pronoun

Typically, when you use a demonstrative pronoun, you will either need to indicate what you’re talking about by pointing or otherwise gesturing toward it, or your listener(s) will need to be looking at it as well. For this reason, demonstrative pronouns are mostly used in spoken English.

However, demonstrative pronouns can be used in written English if the context makes clear the noun to which the demonstrative pronoun refers. A list, for example, in close proximity to (either before or after) “these” or “those” would be clear enough.

·         “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings – these are a few of my favorite things.”

Or you could refer to a description of an object, activity or situation as “this” or “that” if you do so immediately following the description.

·         They make you wear rented shoes, you always smell bad when you leave, my thumb nail always breaks off, and I’m not good at it. That is why I hate bowling.

Defining a Demonstrative Adjective

As mentioned earlier, the four demonstrative adjectives are this, that, these and those. They are adjectives because they modify nouns. That means they come before nouns in a sentence. For example:

·         Is this book yours or mine?

·         Did you finally throw away that old t-shirt?

·         These shoes smell disgusting.

·         I told you those old magazines were a fire hazard.

Demonstrative adjectives indicate exactly which noun the speaker means and where it is (or they are) relative to the position of the speaker.

·         If the noun in question is nearby, he uses this (singular) or these (plural).

·         If the noun is out of the speaker’s reach, he uses that (singular) or those (plural).

Then he always follows the demonstrative with any other accompanying adjectives in their proper order and finally, the noun.

So what is a demonstrative pronoun? It’s a single demonstrative word that takes the place of a noun, a noun phrase, a string of noun phrases, an activity, or a situation in both written and spoken English.

Relative Pronoun

A relative pronoun is used to connect a clause or phrase to a noun or pronoun. You see them used everyday with the most common relative pronouns being: who, whom, which, whoever, whomever, whichever, and that.

Defining Relative Pronouns

A relative pronoun is usually seen in a sentence at the beginning of an adjective clause. An adjective clause functions as an adjective, modifying nouns and pronouns. 

An adjective clause starts with either a relative adverb:

·         where, when, and why

or a relative pronoun such as:

·         that, who, whom, whose, or which

Example (with relative pronoun underlined and adjective clause in italics): The driver who ran the stop sign was careless.

Here is a full list of relative pronouns:

that, when, which, whichever, whichsoever, who, whoever, whosoever, whom, whomever, whomsoever whose, whosesoever whatever, whatsoever

Following are examples of sentences that have adjective clauses starting with relative pronouns (relative pronouns are underlined).

·         Spaghetti, which many of us enjoy, can be messy.

·         This is the book that everyone is talking about.

·         She wrote to the person whom she had met last month.

·         We didn’t bring the receipt, which was a big mistake.

·         I have a friend whose cat is annoying.

·         People who are clever can always find a way.

·         Grandma remembers a time when radio shows were popular.

·         Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died. - Erma Bombeck

Relative pronouns are similar to conjunctions in that they provide a link between a clause and the balance of the sentence. The difference from a conjunctions is that a relative pronoun doesn't just bring attention to the clause. The relative pronoun actually plays the role of a noun in the clause.

Interrogative Pronoun

If you want to know whether a pronoun is an interrogative pronoun, just ask. No, really! An interrogative pronoun is used when asking questions. The trick is, they can actually be only used in a question. Even if they can be used as different kinds of pronouns in different contexts, you can only call them interrogative pronouns if they are being used in a question format.

Defining an Interrogative Pronoun

An interrogative pronoun often stands for something that we are not aware of yet, because we are asking about it. We use these pronouns specifically to ask questions. These pronouns are special because they all start with “Wh”, which makes them easy to remember.  

Do not confuse them with what most elementary school teachers call the “5 W’s – who, what, where, why, and when,” because in reality, these are not all interrogative pronouns.

The interrogative pronouns that most English speakers are aware of are:

whom, whose, who, what, and which

These are the pronouns that help English speakers find out information. The words “whatsoever” and “whichever” are also used sometimes, and they are considered interrogative pronouns as well. 

W Words That Are Not Interrogative Pronouns

Wait – not so fast! These pronouns can also be used in sentences that are not questions. In those cases, these pronouns are not interrogative. 

There are several other words that start with a W – but watch out! They are not interrogative pronouns just because they are words that start with W and are in questions! 

·         For example, “when” is not an interrogative pronoun. Neither is “why” or "where."

Also remember that unlike other pronouns, sometimes interrogative pronouns do not have antecedents because you are not yet sure what they really are! 

Examples of Interrogative Pronouns

Below are a few examples of interrogative pronouns being used correctly in questions:

·         What is your favorite color?

·         Whose shirt is this?

·         Whatsoever do you mean by that?

·         Whom were you speaking with last night?

·         Which of these two do you prefer?

These are a few examples that are incorrect: 

1.     When do you have to wake up tomorrow?

2.     I don’t know where she was going.

  The pronoun is one of the most terrifying masks man has invented. 

John Fowles