Exercises for this card
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A1 · ⑫ Pronouns
Pronouns, possessives and there is
Few words, always the same — but the subject can never be left out, and the possessive follows the owner.
45minthe whole
sheet
38questions
in the practice
3pages,
one at a time
01 · First page · the noun steps out, the pronoun steps in
The substitution
Anna works here.
→
She works here.
I know Anna.
→
I know her.
Marek called me.
→
He called me.
I saw Marek.
→
I saw him.
The keys are here.
→
They are here.
I found the keys.
→
I found them.
This is Anna's book.
→
This is her book.
subject and object: The subject does the action and stands before the verb; the object receives it and stands after. English has a different pronoun for each job — I see him, he sees me — and the position alone tells you which one you need.
possessive: The possessive says who owns the thing, and it agrees with the OWNER, never with the thing owned: his sister, her brother, their house. It does not change for gender or number of what follows — my book and my books are both my.
there is / there are: there is and there are announce that something exists, or is present somewhere. The there is not a place: it is an empty word that holds the subject position open, because English refuses to start a sentence without one.
- She knows him well.
- This book is mine.
- There is a letter for you.
- There are two chairs here.
- It is cold today.
| Possession | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Object | Before a noun | On its own |
| I | me | my | mine |
| you | you | your | yours |
| he | him | his | his |
| she | her | her | hers |
| it | it | its | — |
| we | us | our | ours |
| they | them | their | theirs |
Golden rule
The position chooses the pronoun, not the meaning. Before the verb it is the subject form, after the verb or after a preposition it is the object form. And whatever happens, the subject slot is never left empty: if there is nobody to put in it, English puts in it or there and moves on.
its and it's are two different words that sound the same. its means belonging to it (the dog and its bone). it's is short for it is or it has (it's late). The possessive is the one WITHOUT the apostrophe — the opposite of what you would expect, and the most common written mistake in English.
02 · Second page · the three traps
The uses
Subject before the verb
I, you, he, she, it, we, they — and one of them must always be there.
He works here.They arrived late.
Object after the verb
me, you, him, her, it, us, them — also after every preposition: with me, for him.
I saw them.Come with us.This is for her.
Possessive with the owner
his if the owner is male, her if female, its if a thing — whatever is owned.
his sisterher brotherits colour
Standing alone
mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs replace the whole phrase and take no noun after them.
This book is mine.Is this yours?
there is · one thing
Singular or uncountable after it. The short form there's is what people actually say.
There's a problem.There's some milk left.
there are · more than one
Plural after it. The verb agrees with what comes AFTER there, not with there itself.
There are three people waiting.
it is · pointing at something
it introduces weather, time, distance and identification — not existence.
It's raining.It's five o'clock.It's my brother.
Questions and negatives
be moves in front, exactly as anywhere else: Is there…? There isn't…
Is there a bank near here?There aren't any tickets.
There is or it is? The question that decides
Ask whether you are announcing that something EXISTS, or saying something ABOUT a thing already known. There is a problem introduces the problem for the first time; It is a problem comments on something both of you already have in mind. That is why a room description begins with there — There is a table, there are two chairs — and only afterwards switches to it: It is very old. Getting this wrong does not break the grammar, but it makes the sentence land in the wrong place in the conversation.
🌍 For everyone
Both languages use one verb form for existence regardless of number, so there is gets used before plurals too. In English the verb looks past there and agrees with what follows: there are three people, never there is three people.
Ci sono tre persone. → There are three people.
After a preposition the object form is compulsory, always: between you and me, for him and her, with us. The subject form there — between you and I — sounds careful and is wrong.
Is raining. → It is raining.
The subject slot is never empty: English fills it with it.
Me and him went out. → He and I went out.
Before the verb both pronouns take the subject form.
This is for she. → This is for her.
After a preposition the object form is compulsory.
Marek and her sister live here. → Marek and his sister live here.
The possessive follows the owner: Marek is male, so his.
There is three chairs. → There are three chairs.
The verb agrees with what comes after there, not with there.
The dog lost it's bone. → The dog lost its bone.
The possessive is its, without an apostrophe; it's means it is.
This book is my. → This book is mine.
Standing alone, without a noun after it, the form is mine.
- There aren't any seats left.
- Give it to them, not to us.
- Her husband works with my brother.
- Is there a problem?
03 · Third page · now it's your turn
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