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Personal, Possessive & Reflexive Pronouns

Personal, possessive, and reflexive pronouns are words that replace nouns in sentences to show who or what is being talked about, and they have different forms to indicate ownership or action done to oneself.

A1Pronouns & Reference

Definition and Formation

Personal, possessive, and reflexive pronouns are words that replace nouns in sentences to make them shorter and clearer.

  • The personal pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, which replace names or nouns to refer to people or things.
  • Possessive pronouns like mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs show that something belongs to someone.
  • Reflexive pronouns, which are myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves, are used when the subject and the object of the action are the same.

When to Use Them

  • We use personal pronouns when we want to refer to someone or something without repeating their name or the noun.
  • Possessive pronouns are used to show ownership or relationship, so instead of saying 'the car of my friend', we can say my friend's car.
  • Reflexive pronouns are necessary when the action is done to the same person or thing, like he cut himself.

Examples

  • I like reading books.
  • The book is mine.
  • She did the work herself.
  • He gave the gift to himself.
  • The picture of us is nice.
  • You should try it yourself.

Common Mistakes

  • Wrong: The book belong to I. Correct: The book belongs to me.
  • Wrong: My friend and me went to the store. Correct: My friend and I went to the store.
  • Wrong: The car is of my. Correct: The car is mine.

Learning Tip

Quick check
The book is _____ , it belongs to me.

Where this matters in your exam

In IELTS, mastering personal, possessive, and reflexive pronouns is crucial for clear expression in Writing Task 2 and Speaking Part 2, where candidates need to refer to themselves and others correctly. Incorrect use can lower the coherence and fluency score.

  • Writing Task 2

    Accurate use of pronouns impacts the score for coherence and fluency.