Published on
4 February 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
1 May 2023.
A gerund is a word like ‘swimming’ in the sentence ‘I have always enjoyed swimming’. The term refers to the ‘-ing’ form of a verb when it functions as a noun.
A gerund usually refers in a general way to the activity represented by the verb it’s derived from. Above, ‘swimming’ means the activity of swimming in general, not a specific instance of swimming.
Gerunds are different from other nouns in that they can be modified by adverbials (e.g., ‘I enjoy swimming in the sea‘) and can take direct objects (e.g., ‘playing my guitar always relaxes me’).
Examples: GerundsCycling is a fun activity, a convenient mode of transport, and a good form of exercise.
Published on
2 February 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
22 February 2023.
Pronoun-antecedent agreement means choosing a pronoun that matches its antecedent (the earlier noun or noun phrase it refers to) in terms of number, person, and gender. Agreement errors can cause confusion or just make your writing read poorly.
For example, the sentence ‘Jennifer is here, and she isn’t happy’ is correct because the pronoun ‘she’ is singular (Jennifer is one person), third-person (Jennifer is not the speaker and isn’t being directly addressed), and feminine (Jennifer is a woman).
The vast majority of common agreement errors relate to number (singular vs plural). Examples of some errors and how they can be fixed are shown in the table below. The following sections explain various contexts where mistakes commonly occur.
Pronoun-antecedent agreement errors
Error
Correction
The box of pencils remained in their place.
The box of pencils remained in its place.
Each day will bring their own challenges.
Each day will bring its own challenges.
One should look out for themselves.
One should look out for oneself.
NoteFor convenience, examples of agreement between possessive determiners (e.g., ‘their’) and their antecedents are included in this article. Even though these determiners are not pronouns, they are closely related and cause the same kind of confusion.
Subject-verb agreement follows many of the same principles but is about the relationship between a verb and its subject rather than a pronoun and its antecedent.
Published on
27 January 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
7 November 2024.
As well as is an expression that means ‘in addition to’. It’s used as a conjunction or preposition to connect two parts of a sentence, usually placing emphasis on the one that comes before it. Synonyms of ‘as well as’ include ‘along with’, ‘besides’, and ‘plus’.
Examples: As well as in a sentenceIt’s important to consider the risks as well as the rewards.
As well as being delicious, coconut water offers a number of health benefits.
This chapter explains how the model was developed, as well as reviewing related literature.
Published on
26 January 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
15 May 2023.
An intensive pronoun or emphatic pronoun is a word that’s used to place special emphasis on another noun or pronoun (e.g. ‘the man himself‘). It can indicate something special or unexpected or distinguish the person or thing in question from others.
In English, emphatic pronouns are identical to reflexive pronouns – both always end in -self or -selves –but their grammatical functions are different. There are emphatic forms of all the personal pronouns and of the impersonal pronoun ‘one’.
Published on
26 January 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
10 May 2023.
A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that’s used in the object position when the subject and object of the sentence are the same (i.e., to show someone acting on themselves). For example, ‘himself’ is a reflexive pronoun in the sentence ‘He hurt himself while cooking’.
Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves depending on whether they’re singular or plural. Each of the personal pronouns, along with the impersonal pronoun ‘one’, has a reflexive form. They are listed in the table below.
Published on
24 January 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
10 May 2023.
Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that are used to refer to someone or something in a general way, without being specific about whom or what you’re referring to.
The main group of indefinite pronouns is formed by various combinations of no-, any-, some-, and every- with -thing, -one, and -body (e.g., ‘anything’). The same prefixes combined with -where form indefinite adverbs (e.g., ‘somewhere’), which work similarly but are not technically pronouns.
There are also other indefinite pronouns that aren’t formed in this way, such as ‘many’ and ‘little’.
Published on
20 January 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
11 September 2023.
Possessive pronouns are pronouns that are used to indicate the ownership (possession) of something or someone by something or someone else. The English possessive pronouns are mine, ours, yours, his, hers, theirs, and whose.
Possessive pronouns are closely related to possessive determiners, which are used differently since they appear before a noun instead of replacing it. The possessive determiners are my, our, your, his, her, its, their, and whose.
NoteIts can technically be used as a possessive pronoun (i.e., standing on its own in a statement like ‘the toys are its‘), but this usage is very rare in modern English and best avoided if you want your writing to read smoothly. Its is normally only used as a possessive determiner (e.g., ‘its toys’).
Published on
11 January 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
24 April 2023.
Subject and object pronouns are two different kinds of pronouns (words that replace nouns) that play different grammatical roles in sentences:
A subject pronoun (I, we, he, she, they, or who) refers to the person or thing that performs an action. It normally appears at the start of a sentence, before the verb.
An object pronoun (me, us, him, her, them, or whom) refers to the person or thing affected by an action. It normally comes after a verb or preposition.
All other pronouns (e.g., ‘you’, ‘it’, ‘this’, ‘one’, ‘what’) and nouns (e.g., ‘dog’) have only one form, which is used for both cases.
NoteThe only pronouns with different subject and object forms are the personal pronouns (except for ‘you’ and ‘it’) and the relative or interrogative pronouns who and whom. With other pronouns (and nouns), you don’t need to worry about case.
Published on
11 January 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
24 April 2023.
Interrogative pronouns are pronouns that are used to ask questions. The main English interrogative pronouns are what, which, who, whom, and whose.
An interrogative pronoun normally appears at the start of a question, but it may instead appear in the middle or at the end, depending on the phrasing. A question can also include more than one interrogative pronoun.
Like other pronouns, interrogative pronouns are said to have an antecedent. This is the noun or noun phrase that they stand for. The antecedent of an interrogative pronoun is the answer to the question.
Published on
7 January 2023
by
Jack Caulfield.
Revised on
14 April 2023.
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that’s used to introduce a relative clause. The main English relative pronouns are which, that, who, and whom. These words can also function as other parts of speech – they aren’t exclusively used as relative pronouns.
A relative clause introduces further information about the preceding noun or noun phrase, either helping to identify what it refers to (in a restrictive clause) or just providing extra details (in a nonrestrictive clause).
The relative clause comes after a noun or noun phrase (called the antecedent) and gives some additional information about the thing or person in question. The relative pronoun represents the antecedent.
Pronoun
Usage
Example
Which
Refers to things
Used in nonrestrictive clauses
My bike, which I’ve owned for three years, is in need of some maintenance.
