2 - Pronouns
Let’s go back to imagining your classroom. A new student has joined, and you want to introduce her to some other students in the class.
Look at these two versions of what the teacher could say to them:
Version 1:
“Right, this is Petra. Petra’s new here. Petra has moved here from Switzerland.
Here are Lindsay, Douglas and Cristina.
(To Petra): Petra, could Petra introduce Petra to Lindsay, Douglas and Cristina.
(To the other 3 students): And could Lindsay, Douglas and Cristina welcome Petra?
(To Petra): Petra will be working with Lindsay, Douglas and Cristina today.
(To the other 3): And Lindsay, Douglas and Cristina will be working with Petra”.
Version 2:
“Right, this is Petra. Petra’s new here. She has moved here from Switzerland.
Meet Lindsay, Douglas and Cristina.
(To Petra): Petra, could you introduce yourself to them?
(To the other 3 students): And could you welcome her?
(To Petra): You will be working with them today.
(To the other 3): And you will be working with her”.
Which version sounds better?
If we could use only nouns in sentences, it would sound strange and repetitive. To solve this problem, we use substitute words, called PRONOUNS.
Here are some examples from the text:
When a teacher uses the mother tongue for teaching, she can tell the students everything she wants them to know, and they can understand her (4).
There are some special things to remember about pronouns in English. For example, notice in the conversation above that we use the same pronoun, you, for one person and for several people
Another interesting thing about English is that only people are male or female. A thing is always it. An emotion is it. Even an animal is it (although pet owners are likely to say she or he since the British think of their pets as part of the family). Even a child is it if we don’t know the gender (male or female).
The plural pronoun they is used for both things and for people. It is also used for a person when we do not want to specify the gender. Do you remember this sentence from the text about CLIL?
When a teacher uses the mother tongue for teaching, she can tell the students everything she wants them to know ...
We could also write it like this:
When a teacher uses the mother tongue for teaching, they can tell the students everything they want them to know ...
The pronoun ‘one’ is used only in formal situations.
Pronouns can have different categories depending on their function in a sentence. For example:
She is not the same as her
You is not the same as yourself
Download: Pronouns