GUIDE ENGLISH GRAMMAR BOOK

22 PRONOUNS PAGE 236
There was a great war between Caesar and the Senate; the armies of the Senate
were commanded by another Roman general, Pompey, who had once been
friendly with Caesar. Pompey was beaten in battle, fled to the kingdom of Egypt,
and was murdered. Caesar became master of Rome and the whole of the Roman
Empire in 46 BC.
(from T. Cairns The Romans and their Empire)
Here Caesar and Pompey have to be repeated. For example He was beaten in battle
would not make it clear who was beaten.
NOTE
A pronoun usually goes after the full noun phrase, but it can come first.
When she got home, Claire rang to thank us.
b
He/him, she/her and it are singular. He means a male person, she means a female
person and it means something not human such as a thing, an action or an idea.
I like Steve. He's great fun. I like Helen. She's great fun.
I like that game. It's great fun.
We also use it when talking about someone's identity. It means 'the unknown
person'.
There's someone at the door. It's probably the milkman.
Compare these sentences.
Don't you remember Celia? She was a great friend of mine.
Don't you remember who gave you that vase? It was Celia.
NOTE
a We can use he or she for an animal if we know the animal's sex and we feel sympathy or
interest. Compare these sentences.
He's a lovely little dog. It's a really vicious dog.
b We can use she/her for a country when we see it as having human qualities.
The country's oil has given it/her economic independence.
c We sometimes use it for a human baby of unknown sex.
Look at that baby. It's been sick.
d We do not normally stress it, but we can stress this/that.
Good heavens! Half past ten! Is that the right time?
c
They/them is plural and can refer to both people and things.
I like your cousins. They're great fun. I like these pictures. They're super.
4 Overview: uses of it
Use
Example
To refer to something I've lost my wallet. I can't find it anywhere.
non-human, e.g. a thing, Look at this water. It's a funny colour
a substance, an action, Going on all those long walks was hard work. ~
a feeling, an idea or It was exhausting.
a statement
Love is a funny thing, isn't it?
Everyone knows we cheated. It was obvious.
Identifying a person Who's this photo of? Is it your sister?
As empty subject • 50(5) It's raining.
It's strange that your dream came true.
To give emphasis • 51 (3) It was Matthew who told me.