English Grammar – Pronouns and Special Pronouns

English grammar is easy once you know the rules. Below you will find some exercises to test your knowledge of the English written, and also spoken, language.

What is a pronoun? A pronoun is a word that stands in place of a noun.
The most common pronouns are:
I  you  he  she  it  we  they  me  him  her  us  them

Example: The dog was howling because it was locked outside.

The use of the pronoun it avoids writing ‘dog’ twice in one sentence.

A) Choose pronouns from the list to replace the words in bold.

we  she  it  they  he

1) My uncle could not get into the shed because my uncle had lost the key.
2) Pete and Brian thought that Pete and Brian had won the three-legged race.
3) Andrew and I held up the flag to signal that Andrew and I were ready.
4) Val was sure the Val would be chosen to present the flowers.
5) The fox slipped into the wood and kept running until the fox was safe.

B) Find and write the ten pronouns in these sentences.

I was out this morning with Peter when we met Lynne. She had a dog with her. Usually, dogs take no notice of me but this one growled and tried to attack us. Do you think that there is something about Peter that makes them dislike him? Lynne said that it is normally a friendly dog.

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SPECIAL PRONOUNS

Who, Which and That are special pronouns. They may be used to join sentences together. Usually they refer to nouns that have gone before, but they may stand on their own.

Who refers to people. Example: This is the man WHO helped me.
Which and that refer to things and animals. Example: This is the car THAT he stole.

A) Decide the noun to which the pronoun in bold refers in each sentence.

1) Is this the elm which is dying?
2) This is the model that I made.
3) The road which he took is blocked.
4) Containers which burn are banned.

B) Re-write these sentences. Use who or which to fill the spaces.

1) That is the man _________ sold me the watch _________ fell to pieces.
2) The cat _________ scratched me belongs to the lady _________ lives next door.
3) Is he the guest _________ complained about the window _________ was shut?

C) Join these sentences by replacing the bold word with who or which.

1) Mr Green lent me a book. It was all about making kites.
2) My friend showed me the castle. It is supposed to haunted.
3) I met a girl. She used to live on an island which had no school.

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See related articles:
English Grammar – putting together simple sentences

English Grammar – Sentences

English Grammar – Compound Sentences and Conjunctions

English Grammar – Negatives

English Grammar – Plural Word Endings

English Grammar – English Grammar Test