LESSON 3 PRONOUNS
Pronouns are used in place of a noun that has already been mentioned or that is already known, often to avoid repeating the noun. For example:
Kate was tired so she went to bed. Michael took the children with him. Kieran’s face was close to mine.
That is a good idea. Anything might happen. Personal pronouns
Personal pronouns are used in place of nouns referring to specific people or things, for example I, me, mine, you, yours, his, her, hers, we, they, or them. They can be divided into various different categories according to their role in a sentence, as follows:
- subjective pronouns
- objective pronouns
- possessive pronouns
- reflexive pronouns
Subjective pronouns
The personal pronouns I, you, we, he, she, it, and they are known as subjective pronouns because they act as the subjects of verbs:
She saw Catherine. We drove Nick home. I waved at her.
Objective pronouns
The personal pronouns me, you, us, him, her, it, and them are called objective pronouns because they act as the objects of verbs and prepositions:
Catherine saw her.
Nick drove us home. She waved at me.
Here’s a table setting out the different forms:
| SINGULAR | PLURAL | |||
| subjective | Objective | subjective | objective | |
| first person | I | Me | we | Us |
| second person | You | You | you | You |
| third person | he/she/it | him/her/it | they | Them |
Notice that the personal pronouns you and it stay the same, whether they are being used in the subjective or objective roles.
Possessive pronouns
The personal pronouns mine, yours, hers, his, ours, and theirs are known as possessive pronouns: they refer to something owned by the speaker or by someone or something previously mentioned. For example:
That book is mine. John’s eyes met hers. Ours is a family farm. Reflexive pronouns
Reflexive personal pronouns include myself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves. These are used to refer back to the subject of the clause in which they are used:
I fell and hurt myself.
Daisy prepared herself for the journey. The children had to look after themselves. Pronoun Rules
There are a few important rules for using pronouns. As you read through these rules and the examples in the next section, notice how the pronoun rules are followed. Soon you’ll see that pronouns are easy to work with.
- Subject pronouns may be used to begin sentences. For example: We did a great job.
- Subject pronouns may also be used to rename the subject. For example: It was she who decided we should go to Hawaii.
- Indefinite pronouns don’t have antecedents. They are capable of standing on their own. For example: No one likes the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard.
- Object pronouns are used as direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions. These include: you, me, him, her, us, them, and it. For example: David talked to her about the mistake.
- Possessive pronouns show ownership. They do not need apostrophes. For example: The cat washed its whiskers.
LESSON 4 PRESENT TENSE
Simple present tense adalah suatu bentuk kata kerja untuk menyatakan fakta, kebiasaan, atau kejadian yang terjadi pada saat ini. Simple present tense dibentuk dari verb-1 (present tense) atau linking verb “be” (is, am, are). Apa itu verb-1? Verb-1 merupakan bare infinitive dengan tambahan -s atau -es (contoh verb-1: does, goes, wants) khusus untuk subject berupa singular noun (kata benda tunggal: Tita, book, car) atau third person singular pronoun (kata ganti orang ketiga tunggal: she, he, it); atau tanpa tambahan apapun (contoh verb-1: do, go, want) untuk subject berupa plural noun (boys, men, books) atau plural pronoun (we, they), pronoun I/you, atau compound subject (you and me, Diyah and Nurul).
A. Form
| Simple Present | Present Progressive |
| infinitive (3rd person singular: infinitive + ‘s’) I speak you speak he / she / it speaks we speak they speak | form of ‘be’ and verb + ing I am speaking you are speaking he / she / it is speaking we are speaking they are speaking |
| Exceptions | |
| Exceptions when adding ‘s’ : For can, may, might, must, do not add s. | Exceptions when adding ‘ing’ : Silent e is dropped. (but: does not |
| Example: he can, she may, it must | apply for -ee) |
| After o, ch, sh or s, add es. | Example: come – coming |
| Example: do – he does, wash – she | but: agree – agreeing |
| washes | After a short, stressed vowel, the final |
| After a consonant, the final consonant | consonant is doubled. |
| y becomes ie. (but: not after a vowel) | Example: sit – sitting |
| Example: worry – he worries | After a vowel, the final consonant l is |
| but: play – he plays | doubled in British English (but not in |
| American English). | |
| Example: travel – travelling (British | |
| English) | |
| but: traveling (American English) | |
| Final ie becomes y. | |
| Example: lie – lying |
- B. Use
In general or right now? Do you want to express that something happens in general or that something is happening right now?
| Simple Present | Present Progressive |
| in general (regularly, often, never) Colin plays football every Tuesday. present actions happening one after another First Colin plays football, then he watches TV. | right now Look! Colin is playing football now. also for several actions happening at the same time Colin is playing football and Anne is watching. |
| Signal words | |
| alwaysevery …oftennormallyusuallysometimesseldomneverfirstthen | at the momentat this momenttodaynowright nowListen!Look! |
| Note: The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Present: be, have, hear, know, like, love, see, smell, think, want |
C. Timetable / Schedule or arrangement?
Do you want to express that something is arranged for the near future? Or do you refer to a time set by a timetable or schedule?
| Simple Present | Present Progressive |
| action set by a timetable or schedule The film starts at 8 pm. | arrangement for the near future I am going to the cinema tonight. |
D. Daily routine or just for a limited period of time?
Do you want to talk about a daily routine? Or do you want to emphasis that something is only going on for a limited (rather short) period of time?
| Simple Present | Present Progressive |
| daily routine Bob works in a restaurant. | only for a limited period of time (does not have to happen directly at the moment of speaking) Jenny is working in a restaurant this week. |
Certain Verbs
The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Present (not in the progressive form).
- state: be, cost, fit, mean, suit Example: We are on holiday.
- possession: belong, have Example: Sam has a cat.
- senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch Example: He feels the cold.
- feelings: hate, hope, like, love, prefer, regret, want, wish Example: Jane loves pizza.
- brain work: believe, know, think, understand Example: I believe you.
- Introductory clauses for direct speech: answer, ask, reply, say Example: “I am watching TV,“ he says.
Forming the simple present tense: to think
| Affirmative | Interrogative | Negative |
| I think | Do I think? | I do not think |
| You think | Do you think? | You do not think |
| He thinks | Does he think? | He does not think |
| She thinks | Does she think? | She does not think |
| It thinks | Does it think? | It does not think |
| We think | Do we think? | We do not think. |
| They think | Do they think? | They do not think. |
