Pronouns: Demonstrative, Possessive & Reflexive

A pronoun is defined as a word or a group of words that may be used as a substitute for a noun or noun phrase.

For Example: his, her, their.

In this article, we will talk about 3 types of pronouns:

• Demonstrative
• Possessive
• Reflexive

The details covered in the article are as per the syllabus prescribed for primary 5 English grade and the PSLE.

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns tell you what is being referred to.

Note the following:

1. Note that these are meaningless without context
2. Examples of demonstrative pronouns include this, that, these among others.

Question 1:

Have you tried any of __________ regional snacks? This here is the most popular.

1. Those
2. These
3. That
4. This

Solution: 

2

Explanation:

Remember, 

• ‘these’ / ‘those’ are used when we are referring to plural.
• ‘these’ is used to refer to things that are nearby while ‘those’ is used to refer to things that are far-away.

‘This here’ in the above question suggests that the snacks are nearby. Hence ‘these’ is the correct answer.

Question 2:

“Whose shoes are __________ ?” Shinji yelled as he stood upon his desk with a brand new pair of sneakers held above his head.

1. Those
2. These
3. That
4. This

Solution: 

2

Question 3:

“Whose pair of shoes is __________ ?” Asuma yelled as he stood upon his desk with a brand new pair of trainers held above his head.

1. Those
2. These
3. That
4. This

Solution: 

4

Question 4:

“__________ nectarine looks ripe for the picking,” my mother said as she pointed up into the tree to a fruit out of our reach.

1. Those
2. These
3. That
4. This

Solution:

3

Question 5:

“Could you pass me __________ pile of periodicals, please?” Freddy asked Laura.

1. Those
2. These
3. That
4. This

Solution: 

3

Note: Periodical is a magazine/newspaper published at regular intervals.

Possessive Pronouns

• Possessive pronouns show ‘possession’ or ‘owning’ or ‘owner of’ something.

For Example: 

A man was found to be in possession of weapons. It means that the man was having some weapons or that he was possessing some weapons.

• We often come across the term in sports, like soccer. Team A is in possession of the ball. It means that team A has the ball with them.

Question 6:

They should keep __________ Dark Whomping Willows indoors. Those plants are quite averse to excessive sunlight.

1. Your
2. Our
3. Their
4. His

Solution: 

3

Explanation:

Note:

• Averse means a strong dislike of something.

Example: As a stuntman, he is not averse to risky pursuits.

• Excessive means more than is necessary.

Example: He drank excessive amounts of milk in a bid to bulk up.

Question 7:

“Please pardon __________ ignorance!”, Tomoya said, and he and his wife bowed in apology. As foreigners, they were both unaware of the customs of the land.

1. Your
2. Our
3. My
4. Their

Solution:

2

Question 8:

My cat likes to drag __________ favourite pillow around.

1. Its
2. It’s
3. Her
4. His

Solution: 

1

Explanation:

‘Its’ means ‘belongs to’ and hence is a possessive pronoun.

‘It’s’ is a contraction for ‘it is’.
 

Question 9:

If a student has a question, they can send it to __________ teacher via WhatisUp.

1. His
2. Her
3. Their
4. Its

Solution: 

3

Question 10:

I hope you don’t mind __________ asking, but why do you ride a Nimbus instead of a Firebolt?

1. Your
2. My
3. His
4. Her

Solution:

2

Explanation:

Often many students get confused as to what is correct - ‘me asking’ or ‘my asking’. So let’s understand a bit more about these phrases.

The default correct form is:

“Don’t mind my asking…”. Here, ‘asking’ is a gerund and hence is treated as a noun. It means I hope you don’t mind this question I will give you.

However, in conversations, we commonly use:

“Don’t mind me asking…”. Here ‘asking’ is used as a verb. In this usage, the meaning is I hope you don’t mind this action I’m about to do.

Reflexive Pronouns

We use reflexive pronouns when the subject and the object of the sentence are the same.

To quickly recap, ‘subject’ is a sentence is the ‘main thing’, while the object is the thing that is referred to or acted upon by the subject.

There are 9 reflexive pronouns in English language - myself, yourself, himself, herself, oneself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

Question 11:

“Are you lot enjoying __________ ?” Captain Sack Jparrow asked his men as they lounged.

1. yourself
2. yourselves
3. itself
4. ourselves

Solution:

2

Question 12:

“__________ must speak for __________, Claudia”, Brent said, pointing to their children.

1. You… yourself
2. I… myself
3. She … herself
4. They … themselves

Solution:

4

Question 13:

“You must credit __________ for the swift response time,” the team leader told his men.

1. yourself
2. yourselves
3. itself
4. ourselves

Solution:

2

Question 14:

Don’t take __________ so seriously. Learn to relax and have a good time!

1. yours
2. yourself
3. me
4. you

Solution:

2

Conclusion

In this article, we learned about various pronouns. 

In primary 5 English grade, we study about 3 types of pronouns:

• Demonstrative pronouns
  • These are this, that, those, these

• Possessive pronouns
  • These include your, my, our, his, her, its, their

• Reflexive pronouns
  • The are 9 types - myself, yourself, himself, herself, oneself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.