SEMINAR 7B -- PRONOUNS -- INTRODUCTION + PERSONAL PRONOUNS - introduction -- general characteristics and classification of pronouns - personal pronouns in detail -- person, gender, number and case; specific v. generic reference; the pronoun it; modification of pronouns The most common category of pro-forms -- the pronoun -- is rather wide-ranging as the following example illustrates: e.g. As it turned out, somebody offered Elaine a bicycle at a price which she and her friends knew was well below that of a new one. Since the meaning of pronouns is general and undetermined, in a sentence like this their referential meaning is determined purely by the linguistic or situational context in which they occur. Semantically, most pronouns function like noun phrases. We distinguish the following classes and subclasses: personal -- I, me, you, they, them, ... 1. central reflexive -- myself, themselves, ... possessive -- my / mine, their / theirs, ... 2. reciprocal -- each other, one another 3. relative -- which, that, ... 4. interrogative -- who, what, ... 5. demonstrative -- this, those, ... universal -- both, each positive assertive -- some, several 6. indefinite non-assertive -- any, either negative -- nobody, neither Some pronouns have morphological characteristics that nouns do not have: 1) case: a contrast between subjective v. objective case (I / me, she / her) 2) person: a contrast between 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd persons 3) gender: personal v. nonpersonal; masculine v. feminine 4) number: I / we, he / they CENTRAL PRONOUNS I. PERSONAL PRONOUNS - like all central pronouns, personal pronouns have a person contrast (i.e. separate 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd person forms) - in the 3^rd person there are three genders -- masculine, feminine, nonpersonal - there are also number contrasts (sg. v. pl.) - in the personal subclass -- 1^st and 3^rd person also have a contrast in case (subjective v. objective), 2^nd person forms are in both cases identical (you) A) PERSON - 1^st person = the speaker / writer - 2^nd person = the addressee - 3^rd person = the persons/ things which are neither of the previous two - if more pronouns are coordinated, the sequence is considered: 1^st person -- You and I can go together, can't we? 2^nd person -- You and Gillian / she agree with that, don't you? 3^rd person -- Fred / he and Mona / she met in Tunis, didn't they? The order of pronouns - 1^st person comes last (especially if it is the singular) - 2^nd person usually comes first e.g. You, Jack and I will still be at work. Why didn't they invite you and her? - in the 3^rd person -- usually the masculine comes before the feminine e.g. He and she were both elected. - the pronoun comes before the noun phrase e.g. She and another student were expelled from school. B) GENDER - gender distinctions are largely restricted to 3^rd person singular of personal, possessive and reflexive pronouns -- masculine, feminine and nonpersonal forms e.g. He has hurt his hand. She asked herself why she had had bought it. Personal v. nonpersonal gender - personal -- not only human beings, also supernatural beings (the Deity, gods, angels) and higher animals - the pronoun it can be also used to refer to e.g. babies - personification -- a computer = he, a car = he or she - if we do not know the gender as for example in: Someone is knocking so I'd better go and let ____________ in. (him or her?) -> the masculine can be used as the unmarked form but many people prefer to use reference to both sexes as in: An ambitious player must discipline himself or herself. Someone is knocking so I'd better go and let him or her in. - often the gender-neutral plural can be used (when we do not have to express number concord strictly), usually with indefinite pronouns -- someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, no one, nobody e.g. Everyone thinks they have the right to be here. Someone has parked their car under the `No parking' sign. Has anybody brought their dictionary? - the personal / nonpersonal contrast is also found in relative pr. (who v. which) and indefinite pr. (somebody v. something) C) NUMBER - with the 2^nd person there is number contrast only in the reflexive pronoun (yourself v. yourselves) e.g. Look at your hand, Jack. You've cut yourself. Keep your voices down, children, you must behave yourselves. - also: demonstratives: this / these indefinite pronoun one / ones used as a substitute D) CASE - personal pronouns (although not all) have a distinction between subjective (I), objective (me) and genitive (my / mine -- called possessive pronouns) - so, unlike nouns, the personal pronouns involve a distinction between the subject and object: e.g. The policeman interviewed the woman. He interviewed her. The woman resisted the policeman. She resisted him. -> he and she = subjective forms v. him and her = objective forms The choice of the form is based on the pronoun's function in the clause -- we make a distinction between the so-called `subject territory' (=the pre-verbal part of the clause) and `object territory' (=the post-verbal part) But in informal style we also find objective forms in sentences such as: e.g. Whoever left the door unlocked, it certainly wasn't me. I am taller than her. Also: I am taller than she is. (if we use the subj. case, it's preferable to add the operator) In informal style the objective form is found also in the subject complement (with linking verbs such as `to be'): e.g. Who said it? -- It was he. (subjective form is formal) It was him. (objective form is felt natural) Who said that? -- He did. Indefinite pronouns (nobody, everybody, all) + but or except - except -- is always a preposition, so it is followed by objective case e.g. Nobody except her objected to the proposal. - but (=except) used as a preposition -- many people prefer the subjective form if it is in the subject territory: e.g. Nobody but she objected. Nobody but she can solve the problem. Usually, we use objective forms, subjective forms are possible in a more formal style. However, in object territory both forms are possible: e.g. Nobody objected but she / her. Nobody can solve the problem but her. We can also avoid this saying: Nobody said anything but myself. Specific reference - central pronouns -- usually have definite meaning and specific reference, in the 3^rd person the identity of reference is supplied by the linguistic context either anaphorically (a) or cataphorically (b) a) There is an excellent museum here and everyone should visit it. My brother is afraid that he will fail the test. b) When she had examined the patient, the doctor picked up the telephone. - with anaphoric reference (which is more common than cataphoric) it does not have to be always clear to what / which person we refer: e.g. Mr Fairweather asked Janice if she could come into her room; she seemed to be more upset than she had ever seen her. -> the pronouns have sg feminine reference -- they do not determine the specific identities -- it depends on the larger context or situation; to avoid ambiguity or confusion we may use the nouns again Generic reference - in certain cases the reference is rather generic, especially with relative clauses, as in: e.g. He (i.e. anyone) who hesitates is lost. Ever since he found a need to communicate, man has been the `speaking animal'. - for ordinary purposes the pronouns such as `we, you, they' can be used as generics: e.g. These days you have to be careful with your money. We live in an age of moral dilemmas. They will soon find a cure for cancer. They say it's going to snow today. - the pronoun `they' is especially convenient when we express regret or disapproval: e.g. I wonder why they don't repair the roads more often. I see they are raising the bus fares again. What will they be doing next? - the pronoun `we' implies the 1^st person involvement - the pronoun `you' implies special interest in the addressee Special uses of 'we' a) How are we feeling today? - a doctor talking to his patient b) We're in a bad mood today. -- one secretary talking to another about the boss c) As we saw in chapter 3 .... -- in serious writing `we' seeks to involve the reader in a joint enterprise d) As we showed a moment ago, .... -- in formal writing -- the writer wants to avoid `I' which might be felt somewhat egoistical The pronoun it - any sg noun phrase that does not determine reference by `he' or `she' is referred to by `it' -- collectives, nouncount concretes, singular abstractions e.g. The committee met soon after it had been appointed. He bought some salmon because it was her favourite food. When you are ready to report it, I would like to know your assessment of the problem. The last example shows that `it' can refer to the content of whole sentences and sequence of sentences: e.g. I don't like to say it but I must. You have lost your job because you didn't work hard enough. You have only yourself to blame. It is also possible to use the so-called `extra positional it': e.g. It has to be said that you have lost your job because ............. The so-called `anticipatory it' is used in cleft sentences: e.g. It was only last week that the death was announced. It was John that told me about her failure. `It' is also used as the so-called `prop' (or `dummy' or `empty') subject, especially denoting time, distances and atmospheric conditions: e.g. If it stops raining, we can go for a walk. It's getting dark. What time is it? How far is it to York from here? It is found not only in the subject position: e.g. I take it that she has declined the invitation. It is often found in idioms: e.g. He had a hard time of it in the army. (= to find life difficult) At last we've made it. (= achieved success) How's it going? It can also be used as a substitute for a predication: e.g. She was a rich woman and she looked it. (=a rich woman) Modification of pronouns - is generally limited - concerns mainly personal pronouns with the objective case a) adjectives (esp. in informal exclamations) e.g. Poor you! Silly me! Clever you! Poor us! b) appositive nouns, with plural 1^st and 2^nd person e.g. Will you others please wait here? We doctors think that ........... c) `here' and `there' with 1^st and 2^nd person e.g. Whatever you others do, we here would be willing to leave now. Could you there collect your passports at the desk? (!this tends to sound rude!) d) prepositional phrases e.g. It is very much the concern of you / us in the learned professions. You in the rain coat .......... (impolite!) e) emphatic reflexives e.g. I myself would not do that. They themselves said so. She herself wanted to ............ f) universal pronouns with plurals e.g. We all except responsibility. You both need help. g) relative clauses, mainly in formal style e.g. We who fought for this principle will not lightly abandon it. He or she who left a case in my office should claim it as soon as possible. Note: - combination `they that' is rare, `those who' is preferred (`they who' is not possible)