A-Z of Pronouns: Simple Sentence Building Techniques to Avoid Mistakes

Hello! We have learned nouns in the previous post. But if the same Noun is used repeatedly in a sentence or paragraph, it is not pleasant to hear. And to solve this problem, a Pronoun is needed. In simple words, Pronoun is a word that replaces or takes the place of A noun.
 

1. Two main categories of pronouns (Broad Classification)

Pronouns can be of many types, but for your convenience, the two main types are discussed below:

1. Personal Pronoun: A pronoun that replaces a noun to refer to a specific person, animal, or object (Person, Place, Thing). Examples: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, and them.
2. Indefinite Pronoun: A pronoun that refers to an indefinite person or object whose identity is not clear. Examples: Someone, Anybody, Everything, Nobody. Usage in sentences: Someone has stolen my pen.

2. Classification of Personal Pronouns (The Core Classification)

Personal Pronouns change in three ways based on their position and function in a sentence. This list is the most useful for learning them:

Class	I (আমি)	You (তুমি/তোমরা)	He (সে, পুরুষ)	She (সে, নারী)	We (আমরা)	They (তারা)
1. Subject Pronoun (কর্তৃস্থানীয়)	I	You	He	She	We	They
2. Object Pronoun (কর্মস্থানীয়)	Me	You	Him	Her	Us	Them
3. Possessive Adjective (অধিকারসূচক Adjective)	My	Your	His	Her	Our	Their
4. Possessive Pronoun (অধিকারসূচক Pronoun)	Mine	Yours	His	Hers	Ours	Theirs

3. Subject Pronoun And Object Pronoun (কর্তা বনাম কর্ম)

a) Subject Pronoun: They act as the subject of the sentence, that is, they do the action. They usually come before the verb. Example:

• She sings a song. (She কাজটি করছে।)
• We saw the movie.

b) Object Pronoun: Objective/Object pronouns are used as the object of a verb or as prepositions in a sentence. They usually take the action of a verb or are related to other elements of the sentence. These include me, us, you, him, her, it, and them. Examples:

• He gave the book to me. (বইটি me গ্রহণ করছে।)
• Call them now.

৪. Possessive Pronoun ও Possessive Adjective (অধিকারসূচক)

If you understand these two, you will never make any more mistakes.

a) Possessive Adjective (অধিকারসূচক বিশেষণ): It acts like an adjective and must be followed by a noun. Example:

• This is my pen. (‘my’ শব্দটি ‘pen’ Noun-টিকে Modify করছে।)
• Where is your house?

b) Possessive Pronoun (অধিকারসূচক সর্বনাম): It stands alone in place of a Noun and indicates ownership. No other Noun is required after it. Example:

• This pen is mine. (‘mine’ শব্দটি ‘my pen’-এর পরিবর্তে বসেছে।)
• That house is theirs.

Example	Possessive Adjective	Possessive Pronoun
Uses	Noun-এর ঠিক আগে বসে।	বাক্যে Noun-এর পরিবর্তে একাই বসে।
Example	Our car is red.	The red car is ours.

 
In addition to Personal, Indefinite, Subject, Object, and Possessive, there are four other important types:

Demonstrative Pronoun (নির্দেশক সর্বনাম)

A Pronoun is used to point out a person or thing. It usually indicates distance or proximity. Note: A Demonstrative Pronoun is a Pronoun only if it is not followed by a Noun. If it is followed by a Noun (e.g., This book is mine), it is a Demonstrative Adjective.

• শব্দগুলো: This (এটি), That (ওটি/ওই), These (এগুলো), Those (ওগুলো)।

Interrogative Pronoun (প্রশ্নসূচক সর্বনাম)

Pronouns that are used to ask questions. They usually come at the beginning of a sentence. The words: Who, Whom, Whose, What, Which. Examples:

• Who broke the window?
• What is your plan?
• Which road leads to the market?

Relative Pronoun (সম্বন্ধসূচক সর্বনাম)

A Pronoun that connects two sentences or clauses and establishes a relationship with the preceding Noun or Pronoun. Many of the words of the Interrogative Pronoun (Who, Which, That) are also used as Relative Pronouns. The words: Who, Whom, Whose, Which, That. Examples:

• This is the girl who won the prize. (এখানে ‘who’ শব্দটি ‘girl’ এর সাথে পরের বাক্যের সম্পর্ক স্থাপন করছে।)
• The book that you gave me is interesting.

Difference:

• Interrogative: Who is he? (প্রশ্ন)
• Relative: I know the boy who is here. (সম্পর্ক স্থাপন)

Reflexive Pronoun (আত্মবাচক সর্বনাম)

Reflexive Pronouns are used when the subject of a sentence is itself the object, that is, when the action is directed back to the subject. The words are formed by adding -self (singular) and -selves (plural). For example: Myself, Yourself, Himself, Herself, Ourselves, Themselves. Examples:

• He cut himself while shaving. (সে নিজেকেই কেটে ফেলল।)
• They enjoyed themselves at the party.

Emphatic Pronoun (জোরদানকারী সর্বনাম)

Similar to the Reflexive Pronoun, this word is used to emphasize the subject or Noun of the sentence. It is also called Intensive Pronoun. The words: Myself, Yourself, Himself, Ourselves, etc. Example:

• The President himself visited the flood area.
• I did the work myself.

Difference (Reflexive vs. Emphatic):

• Even if the Emphatic Pronoun is removed from the sentence, the original meaning of the sentence remains intact. (Example: The President visited the flood area. — The sentence is correct.)
• If the Reflexive Pronoun is removed from the sentence, the sentence becomes incomplete or meaningless. (Example: He cut… — The sentence is incomplete.)

 
Today we learned the basic structure of Personal Pronouns, the difference between Subject/Object, and most importantly, the use of Possessive Adjectives and Possessive Pronouns.